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Plate  A 


TALKS 


ON 

DRAWING,  PAINTING,  MAKING, 
DECORATING 


FOR 


PRIMARY  TEACHERS 


LOU  ELEANOR,  COLBY 


CHICAGO 

SCOTT,  FORESMAN  AND  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1909 

By  SCOTT,  FORESMAN  AND  COMPANY 


DEDICATION 


TO  THE  HUNDREDS  OF  EAGER,  EARNEST, 
SYMPATHETIC  TEACHERS  WHOSE  RESPON- 
SIVE AND  APPRECIATIVE  WORDS  HAVE 
BEEN  A DELIGHT  AND  INSPIRATION  TO 
ME,  AND  TO  THE  MANY  OTHER  PRIMARY 
TEACHERS,  NOT  LESS  EARNEST,  WHOM  IT 
HAS  NEVER  BEEN  MY  PRIVILEGE  TO  MEET. 


Lou  Eleanor  Colby 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/talksondrawingpaOOcolb 


CONTENTS 


I.  DRAWING  FROM  IMAGINATION 

Selecting  Stories,  12.  Supernatural  Stories  Undesirable,  14. 
Seasonable  Stories,  14.  Dramatic  Action  and  Incident,  15. 
Small  Objects  Undesirable,  16.  Relating  to  Other  Drawing 
Work,  17  Costume  Poses,  17.  Sub-dividing  Long  Stories, 
17.  Importance  Definite  Plan,  20.  Helping  the  Children, 
21.  Gettrng  Spirit  of  Story,  22.  Criticism,  22.  Suggestive 
List  of  Stories,  24. 

II.  DRAWING  FROM  NATURE 

Choice  and  Care  of  Flowers,  25.  Placing  the  Flowers,  26. 
Grasses,  27.  Sedges,  28.  Flowers,  28.  Criticism,  29.  Esti- 
mating Results,  31.  Illustrations,  31.  Light  and  Shade, 
32.  Direct  Handling,  33.  Masses  Rather  than  Detail,  33. 
Painting  Fruit,  34.  Spring  Work,  34.  Shadow  Pictures,  35. 
Pencil  Work,  36.  Choice  and  Care  of  Pencil,  37.  Colored 
Crayons,  38.  Many  Mediums,'  One  Aim,  38 

III.  DRAWING  FROM  PEOPLE 

Mediums  for  Pose  Work,  40.  Straight  Line  Drawing  for 
Action,  40.  Suggestive  Lessons,  41.  Changing  Line  Pictures 
to  Shadow  Pictures,  42.  Color  over  Action  Lines,  43. 
Straight  Line  Figures  in  Illustrative  Work,  43.  Regular 
Pose  Work,  44.  Brush  and  Ink  and  Color,  44.  Time  for 
a Pose  Drawing,  44.  Where  to  Pose  the  Child,  45.  Costume 
Poses,  45.  Suggestive  Verses  or  Songs,  46.  Variety,  47. 
Occupation  Poses,  48.  Suggested  Poses,  48.  Seasonable 
Poses,  48.  Miscellaneous  Poses,  48. 

IV.  DRAWING  FROM  ANIMALS 

Drawing  Animals  Out-of-Doors,  49.  Preparation  for  Out- 
of-Door  Lesson,  50.  Placing  the  Children,  51.  Frequency 
of  Out-of-Door  Lessons,  52.  Drawing  Animals  in  the  School- 
room, 52  Posing  the  Animal,  53.  Suitable  Mediums,  53. 
Good  Subjects  for  Water  Colors,  53.  Reproductions,  54. 
When  Animals  Change  Position,  55.  Memory  Snap  Shots, 
55.  Drawing  from  Stuffed  Birds,  56.  Drawing  Toy  Ani- 
mals, 56.  Collecting  Pictures,  57.  An  Animal  Game,  58. 
Wall  Pictures,  58. 

V.  DRAWING  FROM  THINGS  

Providing  Objects,  59.  Choosing  Suitaole  Objects,  60. 
Developing  Quick  Observation,  61.  Interesting  Objects,  62. 
Drawing  from  Block  Building,  62.  Placing  Objects,  63. 
Object  and  Background,  64.  Presenting  the  Lessons,  64. 
Changing  Position  of  Objects,  64.  What  to  Work  For,  65. 
Size  of  Drawings,  66.  Technique,  67.  Marking  the  Draw- 
ings, 68.  Erasers,  69.  Objects  in  Color,  69. 

3' 


4 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

VI.  PAINTING  AND  COLOR 71 

Painting  Color  Washes,  73.  Other  Suggestive  Wash  Exer- 
cises, 74.  Seat  Work,  75.  Rainbow  Dolls,  76.  Color  Days, 

77.  Stained  Glass  Effects,  78.  A Fall  Exercise,  79.  Soap 
Bubble  Painting,  80.  The  Prism,  80.  Tissue  Paper,  80. 

VII.  MAKING  AND  DECORATING 81 

The  Doll  House,  81.  Papering  and  Carpeting,  84.  The 
Curtains,  85.  First  Making  Work,  85.  Sixteen  Square  Fold, 

85.  Original  Making,  87.  Love  of  Good  Workmanship,  89. 
Transportation  Lesson,  89.  Decoration  of  Objects,  90. 

VIII.  WORKING  IN  CLAY 93 

Expense  of  Material,  93.  Objections  Easily  Overcome,  93. 
Preparation  and  Care,  94.  Preparing  Desks  for  Modeling 
Lesson,  95.(  Overworking  the  Clay,  95.  Purifying  the  Clay, 

95.  Story  Telling  in  Clay,  96.  Fruit  and  Vegetables,  98. 
Modeling  Twigs,  98.  Modeling  Type  Forms,  99.  Modeling 
Pottery,  99.  Modeling  Birds  and  Animals,  100.  Making 
a Framework,  101.  Modeling  from  People,  102.  Results, 

102. 

IX.  CUTTING  FROM  PAPER 103 

Scissors,  104.  First  Work,  104.  Ways  of  Working,  106. 
Cutting  from  Dictation,  106.  Cutting  from  Objects  or  Pic- 
tures, 109.  Cutting  from  Imagination,  113.  Cutting  for 
Busy  Work,  113. 

x.  special  Days 1 15 

Thanksgiving,  115.  Christmas,  120.  New  Year,  123.  Val- 
entine Day,  123.  Washington’s  Birthday,  125.  Easter,  126. 
April  Suggestions,  127.  May  Day,  127.  Arbor  Day,  128. 
Decoration  Day,  128. 

xi.  Care  and  distribution  of  materials 129 

Water  Colors  School  Property,  129.  Ownership  of  Boxes, 

130.  Place  for  Boxes,  131.  Water  Pans,  132.  Paint 
Cloths,  132.  Place  for  Everything,  133.  Cleaning  the 
Paints,  133.  Pencils,  133.  Desk  Boards,  134.  Scissors, 

134.  Paste,  136.  Brush  and  Ink,  136.  Saving  Draw- 
ings, 137. 

XII.  PLANNING  THE  WORK 139 

Planning  by  Supervisor  and  Grade  Teacher,  139.  How  to 
Plan,  139.  Choice  of  Plans,  140.  Best  Plan  for  Young 
Children,  140.  Two  Ways  Laying  out  Work  for  Month,  141. 
Topical  Program,  142.  Daily  and  Weekly  Program,  142. 


INTRODUCTION 


This  book  is  meant  to  be  a friend,  just  a com- 
panionable friend,  to  Primary  Teachers — one  to  whom 
they  may  go  for  help;  one  perchance  with  whom  they 
may  occasionally  differ,  but  only  as  friends  differ,  to 
come  together  again. 

There  is  no  fixed  and  unvarying  method  for  teach- 
ing a child  to  draw,  paint,  model,  or  construct.  He 
who  woidd  attempt  to  furnish  such  might  indeed, 
teach  him  to  handle  pencil,  brush,  scissors,  or  clay 
with  considerable  deftness  and  precision,  but  with 
results  bearing  the  stamp  in  a large  degree  of  mere 
cleverness  and  skill  in  mimicry.  Meantime,  the  happy 
years  of  childhood  would  have  slipped  away  and  little 
would  have  been  added  to  the  child’s  vividness  of 
imagination,  his  quickness  and  accuracy  of  observa- 
tion, and  his  power  of  expression  and  creation. 

The  book  is  chiefly  a record  of  experiences,  a com- 
pilation of  good  things  done  by  teachers  here  and 
there  which  are  worth  bringing  together  and  carrying 
to  all  others  whose  opportunities  perhaps  have  been 
more  limited.  While  the  writer’s  own  experience  as 
a director  and  teacher  of  drawing  for  several  years 
has  been  drawn  upon,  the  contents  of  the  book  have 
been  determined  largely  by  her  observation  of  the 
work  done  by  other  teachers  located  in  many  schools 

and  many  cities.  For  this  reason  it  is  believed  the 

5 


6 


INTRODUCTION 


material  here  furnished  will  be  helpful  to  primary 
teachers  everywhere  irrespective  of  local  conditions. 

In  those  cities  and  towns  where  the  grade  teachers 
have  the  inspiration  and  the  helpful  criticism  and  direc- 
tion of  a Supervisor  of  Drawing,  the  book  should  serve 
a useful  purpose  in  supplementing  the  directions  of 
the  Supervisor.  Jn  schools  where  teachers  are  doing 
the  drawing  and  construction  work  without  the  guid- 
anee  of  a Supervisor,  it  should  easily  suggest  enough 
definite,  suitable,  and  interesting  exercises  in  drawing, 
making,  and  decorating  to  cover  at  least  the  First  and 
Second  Primary  Years.  It  is  believed,  in  fact,  that 
the  book  will  furnish  a fairly  complete  course  in  the 
work  for  any  primary  teacher  who  is  forced  to  draw 
upon  her  own  resources  in  teaching  the  subject. 

No  teacher  will  be  compelled  to  take  a course 
in  Pedagogy  and  Psychology  in  order  to  understand 
and  use  this  book.  In  a manner  which  we  hope  will 
be  found  clear,  direct,  and  pleasing  it  makes  plain 
what  may  be  done  in  the  various  subjects  and  how 
to  do  it.  While  a trained  and  experienced  teacher 
may  possibly  get  more  out  of  it  than  any  other,  it  is 
designed  to  carry  a helpful  message  to  the  teacher  of 
more  limited  experience  and  training.  It  will  at  least 
carry  to  all  in  simplest  terms  the  results  of  approved 
experience  in  selection  and  in  method,  suggesting 
through  the  typical  exercises  presented  under  each 
subject  a great  variety  of  related  exercises,  limited  only 
by  the  discrimination,  the  ingenuity,  and  the  resource- 
fulness of  the  teacher. 


INTRODUCTION 


7 


While  the  book  is  non-technical  in  the  educational 
and  art  sense,  the  writer  is  confident  it  will  be  found 
sound  in  all  the  essential  principles  which  underlie 
form  expression  of  whatever  kind,  whether  practised 
by  primary  or  upper  grade  pupils  or  by  the  adult. 
It  aims  to  make  the  child’s  first  crude  efforts  as 
purposeful  as  his  later  and  more  formal  ones — to 
create  standards,  to  encourage  originality  and 
invention,  to  cultivate  freedom  along  with  exactness, 
to  develop  seeing  power  and  skill  of  hand,  and  to 
help  the  pupil  sense  the  quality  of  beauty  in  the 
usefnl  thing. 

A special  feature  has  been  made  of  the  illustra- 
tions of  vihich  there  are  many,  covering  every  impor- 
tant point  in  the  text.  These,  with  few  exceptions, 
have  been  placed  in  the  margin  and  as  near  the  text 
reference  as  possible  for  the  convenience  of  the  teacher. 
They  are  not  used  in  the  book  as  examples  of 
technique,  but  almost  entirely  to  make  clear  the 
points  covered  by  the  text,  and  to  guard  against  any 
possible  misinterpretation. 

Another  feature  of  the  book  which  will  undoubt- 
edly appeal  to  teachers,  is  the  large  number  of  repro- 
ductions of  pupils’  work  which  appear  on  its  pages. 
There  are  many  of  these  distributed  throughout  the 
book  under  the  various  subjects  treated.  The  originals 
were  selected  from  many  schools  and  not  only  serve 
an  admirable  purpose  in  illustrating  text  points  but 
afford  an  excellent  basis  for  comparison  and  for  meas- 
uring local  results. 


8 


INTRODUCTION 


It  may  be  noted  that  the  subject  of  landscape  has 
been  omitted  from  the  book.  This  omission  is  due  to 
a growing  tendency  to  teacli  landscape  in  connection 
with  illustrative  work.  If  the  teacher  is  telling  the 
children  a story  of  boys  flying  their  kites  out  in  the 
green  fields  beneath  the  blue  skv,  it  is  not  drawing 
from  imagination  alone  when  they  try  to  picture  the 
scene.  It  is  landscape  drawing  as  well.  The  same 
thing  is  true  when  they  try  to  picture  the  Hans  Ander- 
sen story  of  the  “Snow  Man.”  The  children  are 
intensely  interested  in  having  their  pictures  show  how 
winter  looks  with  its  cold  gray  sky,  bare  trees,  and 
white  ground.  When  drawing  from  imagination  is 
carried  on  in  this  way,  the  children  cannot  fail  to 
learn  many  things  which  will  prepare  them  for  the 
actual  study  of  landscape  later. 

To  all  who  have  assisted  me  in  the  preparation 
of  this  book  by  furnishing  materials  for  illustration 
and  otherwise,  and  especially  to  Mrs.  M.  E.  Riley, 
Supervisor  of  Drawing,  St.  Louis,  Mrs.  Ida  Hood 
Clark,  Director  of  Elementary  Manual  Training,  Mil- 
waukee, Miss  Emelia  M.  Goldsworthy,  Art  Instructor, 
W estern  State  Normal  School,  Kalamazoo,  Michigan, 
and  to  Miss  Jessie  Buckner,  Art  Instructor,  Western 
State  Normal  School,  Macomb,  Illinois,  I wish  to 
make  grateful  acknowledgment  of  my  obligation. 

In  closing,  the  author  wishes  to  express  the  hope 
that  the  teachers  will  share  with  the  children  the  joy 
which  comes  from  such  work  as  this  book  contains 
and  suggests.  To  none  of  the  great  family  of  grown- 


INTRODUCTION 


9 


up  children  has  it  been  granted  in  larger  degree  to 
keep  the  heart  childlike  than  to  the  Primary  Teacher. 

“The  happiest  heart  is  childlike, 

It  never  quite  grows  old. 

It  sees  the  sunset's  splendor 
As  it  saw  the  dawning  gold. 

It  has  a gift  for  gladness, 

Its  dreams  die  not  away, 

‘Oh  what  a foolish  happy  heart’ 

The  worldlier  people  say." 

Lou  Eleanor  Colby. 


Talks  ok 


Di  ? awing,  Painting,  Making,  Decorating 

I.  DRAWING  FROM  IMAGINATION 

If  imaginative  drawing  were  taught  with  the  same 
system  and  persistence  through  all  the  grades  as  is 
the  language  work,  the  pupil  would  leave  school  with 
as  much  command  over  the  one  means  of  expression  as 
the  other,  for  drawing  is  as  natural  at  least  to  the  child 
as  writing  and  is  used  by  him  much  earlier.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  wait  until  the  pupil  is  supplied  with  the 
regulation  paper  and  drawing  pencil  before  beginning 
the  lessons,  for  his  ordinary  pad  and  pencil  may  be 
made  to  do  service  in  this  story-telling  work,  if  nothing 
else  is  available.  Drawing  from  imagination  for  story 
telling  or  illustration  is  the  easiest  step  to  take  in  going 
from  the  child’s  hitherto  unguided  home  efforts  to 
the  carefully  planned  work  of  the  schoolroom. 

The  drawings  of  primitive  races  were  mere  symbols, 
and  it  was  long  ago  discovered  that  the  child  repeats, 
in  a measure,  in  his  own  unguided  drawing,  the  graphic 
expression  of  these  races.  In  the  mind  of  every  child 
there  seem  to  be  certain  symbols  which  stand  for  the 
objects  which  he  tries  to  represent,  and  the  primary 
teacher,  whether  in  Maine,  California,  Minnesota,  or 
Texas,  will  find  that  the  first  imaginative  drawings 

show  the  use  of  almost  the  same  symbols.  Alen  and 

11 


12 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


boys  are  almost  invariably  pictured  in  this  manner 
(Fig.  1),  while  the  women  and  girls  are  rendered  some- 
thing like  Fig.  2,  with  lines  added  to  suggest  a skirt, 
and  variation  in  style  of  head-dress.  The  X-Ray 
effect  of  this  drawing  as  shown  in  the  girl’s  skirt  is 
quite  common  in  the  drawings  of  children.  Every 
teacher  is  familiar  with  the  pictures  of  houses  which 
show  not  only  the  outside  of  them,  but  the  furniture 
within.  However,  children  like  to  draw,  and  it  should 
be  the  effort  of  the  teacher  to  preserve  this  spontaneity 
and  enthusiasm  while  she  gradually  develops  the  power 
of  observation  and  consequently  the  power  to  express 
with  more  consistency  and  truth.  “Creative  imagina- 
tion is  the  common  factor  in  all  studies,”  and  every 
effort  made  by  the  pupil  in  illustrative  drawing  should 
serve  to  stimulate  the  imagination  and  quicken  the 
observation  and  memory. 

The  teacher  should  select  stories  which  are  full  of 
interest  to  the  children,  and  these  stories  should  deal 
with  objects,  incidents,  and  scenes  with  which  the 
children  are  familiar,  through  actual  contact  or  par- 
ticipation, or  by  having  seen  them  frequently  pictured, 
so  that  a mental  image  has  been  formed.  For  instance, 
the  story  of  “Goldilocks  and  the  Three  Bears”  is 
intensely  interesting  to  children,  but,  until  the  advent 
of  the  Teddy  Bear,  it  is  doubtful  whether  children 
could  illustrate  it  as  effectively  as  now,  having  had 
previously  on'y  a vague  notion  of  the  appearance  of  a 
bear.  Now,  however,  it  may  be  numbered  among  the 
really  good  stories  for  child  picturing. 


SELECTING 

STORIES 


2 


DRAWING  FROM  IMAGINATION 


13 


We  have  seen  a wonderfully  good  set  of  drawings 
based  on  this  story.  Before  drawing,  each  scene  was 
represented  by  using  a doll  to  impersonate  Goldilocks, 
and  Teddy  Bears  of  various  sizes  for  the  real  bears, 
while  boxes  served  to  represent  chairs  and  beds.  The 
delight  of  the  children  was  evident.  They  were  allowed 
to  discuss  the  scenes  after  looking  at  them.  The 
objects  were  then  covered  and  the  pictures  were  made. 
The  results  were  a credit  to  the  children,  for,  crude  as 
were  the  pictures,  they  were  full  of  spirit  and  action. 
It  is  admitted  that  this  method  makes  the  drawing  to 
a certain  extent  an  act  of  memory. 

If  pictures  are  utilized  in  an  illustrative  lesson, 
there  should  be  several  instead  of  one.  For  instance, 
if  children  are  shown  a picture  of  “Bed  Biding  Hood 
and  the  Wolf”  before  illustrating  that  story,  the 
chances  are  every  paper  will  show  that  particular  Bed 
Biding  Hood  and  that  particular  Wolf.  In  fact,  the 
drawings  will  show  little  creative  imagination  on  the 
part  of  the  children.  They  have  simply  copied  the 
picture  type  in  so  far  as  they  are  aide  to  copy. 
Before  attempting  to  picture  this  story  again,  it  is 
suggested  that  the  teacher  make  a collection  of  wolf 
pictures,  cutting  them  from  magazines,  posters,  or 
newspapers,  and  mounting  on  cardboard.  Tell  the 
story  as  graphically  as  possible  and  then  talk  about 
wolves — what  they  look  like,  where  and  how  they 
live,  etc.,  showing  the  pictures  as  you  talk.  Then, 
if  the  pictures  be  put  out  of  sight,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  story  pictures  made  by  the  children 


14 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


show  they  have  made  a good  step  beyond  mere 
copying. 

Do  not  ask  children  to  illustrate  stories  which 
require  the  drawing  of  gods,  goddesses,  or  other 
supernatural  beings,  for  although  the  average  child  will 
undertake  anything,  the  results  cannot  fail  to  be  de- 
pressing even  when  viewed  with  his  childish  eyes.  The 
writer  once  visited  a room  when  the  teacher  was  tellino- 
the  story  of  the  “Nine  Muses, ” and  the  poor  children 
were  immersed  in  gloom  trying  to  picture  them  on 
paper.  At  Easter  Time  she  saw  children  in  another 
room  trying  to  picture  the  story  of  the  resurrection  with 
the  angel  at  the  tomb.  At  first  it  seemed  monstrously 
sacrilegious,  but  the  children  were  so  serious  that  one 
could  readily  see  they  did  not  feel  it  to  be  so.  It  was 
pitiful  to  see  them  attempt  a subject  which  only  tw  o or 
three  of  the  world’s  greatest  artists  have  essayed.  The 
tension  of  feeling  was  much  lessened  when  one  little 
fellow  said  confidentially,  as  she  passed  his  desk,  “Mine 
is  an  awfully  wild  Indian-looking  angel.  I guess  I'll 
put  him  behind  a cloud,  and  that'll  fix  him.  He  can 
just  be  peeking  out.’’  The  accompanying  reproduction 
(Fig.  3)  shows  how  his  drawing  appeared  after  it  was 
“ fixed." 

Much  depends  upon  the  selection  of  seasonable 
stories,  for  the  children  throw  all  of  their  enthusiasm 
into  illustrating  the  thing  which  fills  their  hearts  and 
minds  We  knew  a teacher  who  tested  a class  by 
telling  the  Santa  Claus  story  on  a warm  May  day. 
The  results  on  paper  were  unspeakable,  and  to  have 


SUPER- 

NATURAL 

STORIES 

UNDESIR- 

ABLE 


SEASON- 

ABLE 

STORIES 


Plate  B 


DRAWING  FROM  IMAGINATION 


15 


done  such  a thing  often  would  surely  have  been 
most  detrimental  both  to  the  children  and  to  their 
illustrative  drawing.  Use  the  material  which  comes  to 
hand  while  it  is  fresh.  If  the  band  passes  the  school, 
let  the  children  go  to  the  windows  and  watch  as  well  as 
listen.  “How  does  the  drum  major  dress?  How  does 
he  walk  ? What  does  he  do  ? See  the  fellow  blowing 
the  big  horn!  etc.”  When  they  take  their  seats  let  the 
children  draw  pictures  to  show  how  the  band  looked. 
Do  not  wait  until  the  regular  drawing  period.  Let 
pupils  draw  while  the  picture  is  fresh  in  their  minds,  and 
the  results  will  justify  the  slight  inconvenience  caused 
by  varying  the  daily  program.  The  pictures  shown  in 
Plates  A,  B,  E,  F were  drawn  while  the  children 
were  still  full  of  excitement  over  a fire  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. The  drawings  were  made  in  two  widely  sepa- 
rated cities.  In  one  case  the  work  was  done  with  brush 
and  ink,  while  in  the  other,  colored  crayons  were  used. 
Notice  how  full  of  spirit  and  action  the  crude  little 
pictures  are.  A circus  in  town  furnishes  an  oppor- 
tunity for  a fine  drawing  lesson.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  the  variety  in  the  pictures  here  shown  (Plates  A 
and  E),  but  although  the  interpretations  were  many 
and  varied,  one  feels  that  the  children  worked  with  a 
joy  and  enthusiasm  which  few  other  subjects  could 
have  elicited. 

dramatic  The  child  is  at  first  satisfied  with  very  crude  results, 
™ and  his  figures  are  almost  entirely  devoid  of  action. 
incident  In  the  most  dramatic  manner  recite  the  story  of  the 
“Gingerbread  Man,”  laying  great  stress  on  that  part 


16 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


which  says  of  the  little  old  woman,  “She  ran  and  she 
ran  and  she  ran,  but  she  couldn't  catch  the  ginger- 
bread  man."  When  you  inspect  the  drawings,  you  will 
be  surprised  to  find  that  hardly  a child  has  shown  any 
action  in  either  the  gingerbread  man  or  the  old  lady. 
The  children  have  shown  the  old  lady’s  sunbonnet,  her 
checked  apron  and  her  spectacles,  for  children  love 
detail  (Fig.  4),  but  the  old  lady  herself  stands  placidly 
on  her  side  of  the  paper  and  the  gingerbread  man 
on  his.  The  next  day  or  on  the  occasion  of  the  next 
lesson,  dress  a little  girl  in  sunbonnet  and  apron  and 
let  her  run  back  and  forth  before  the  children,  or 
around  the  room,  while  the  children  watch  the  action 
of  her  body  and  the  position  of  her  arms.  Have  them 
try  to  draw  a girl  running.  Then  try  the  story  again 
and  you  will  find  that  some  of  the  children  at  least 
have  sensed  and  expressed  the  idea  of  motion  (Fig.  5), 
and  although  the  old  lady’s  proportions  leave  much 
to  be  desired,  the  drawings  will  show  more  or  less 
successful  effort  to  represent  action.  This  dramati- 
zation of  stories  may  be  made  most  helpful  and 
should  be  practiced  whenever  possible.  Knowledge 
gained  in  pose  drawing  will  also  find  its  application 
here. 


The  story  of  the  little  bird  that  carried  straw  to 
build  a nest  in  the  tree  brings  in  problems  of  proportion 
which  lead  to  trouble.  Plainly,  the  bird  is  the  impor- 
tant factor  in  the  story,  and  should  be  given  due  promi- 
nence. The  straw  for  building  the  nest  is  likewise 
important.  Consequently,  we  have  something  like  this 


SMALL 

OBJECTS 

UNDESIR- 

ABLE 


4 


DRAWING  FROM  IMAGINATION  17 


RELATING 
TO  OTHER 
DRAWING 
WORK 


COSTUME 

POSES 


SUB- 

DIVIDING 

LONG 

STORIES 


(Fig.  6),  for  the  drawing  paper  lias  fixed  dimensions, 
and  the  bird  and  straw  leave  little  room  for  the  tree. 

When  the  children  are  studying  trees  in  connection 
with  their  nature  work,-  or  are  making-  drawings  from 
the  schoolroom  windows  to  show  how  the  different 
trees  look,  or  how  they  tell  the  story  of  “nearness  and 
farness,”  let  the  illustrative  work  include  the  drawing 
of  trees.  The  story  of  “The  Discontented  Fir  Tree” 
is  familiar  to  all  lovers  of  Andersen’s  Tales  and  is  a 
fine  winter  story.  The  fable  of  the  man  who  went 
through  the  woods  hunting  for  the  pot  of  gold  is  good. 
Every  teacher  can  find  or  recall  a dozen  equally  suit- 
able stories. 

Costume  poses  add  great  zest  to  the  story.  Cos- 
tumes need  not  be  pretentious  to  satisfy  the  children. 
A paper  crown  is  all  that  is  needed  to  transform  a boy 
into  a king;  a cap  and  a kerchief  make  a pilgrim  maiden 
of  a girl,  while  only  a large  liat,  a cane  with  a crooked 
handle  and  perhaps  a toy  sheep  will  create  a “Bopeep.” 

Long  stories  may  be  broken  into  several  parts  or 
steps  so  as  to  furnish  several  pictures.  If  too  much  is 
told  at  one  time,  the  child  cannot  grasp  it,  and  no  one 
picture  is  imaged  clearly  in  his  mind.  lie  is  confused 
by  a number  of  images.  It  is  better  to  tell  such  stories 
in  installments.  There  is  no  story  in  the  English  lan- 
guage better  adapted  for  illustrative  purposes  in  the 
schoolroom  than  “Johnny  Look-in-the-air.”  It  is  most 
interesting  because  it  deals  with  familiar  objects,  and  is 
full  of  dramatic  action  and  incident.  It  should,  how- 
ever, be  separated  into  at  least  four  parts  and  made  to 


6 


18 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


furnish  material  for  several  lessons.  Here  is  the  poem, 
and  the  accompanying  drawings  (Plates  C and  D), 
made  by  second  grade  children,  show  with  what  interest 
they  interpreted  the  story  of  the  poem. 

JOHNNY  LOOK-IN-THE-AIR 

i 

As  he  trudged  along  to  school, 

It  was  always  Johnny’s  rule 
To  be  looking  at  the  sky 
And  the  clouds  that  floated  by; 

Put  what  just  before  him  lay 
In  his  way, 

Johnny  never  thought  about; 

So  that  everyone  cried  out, — 

“Look  at  little  Johnny  there! 

Little  Johnny  Look-in- the-air.” 

ii 

Running  just  in  Johnny’s  way 
Came  a little  dog  one  day; 

Johnny’s  eyes  were  still  astray 
Up  high  in  the  sky, 

And  he  never  heard  them  cry, — 

“Johnny,  mind,  the  dog  is  nigh!” 

What  happens  now  ? 

Pump ! 

Dump ! 

Down  they  fell  with  such  a thump 
Dog  and  Johnny  in  a lump! 

They  almost  broke  their  bones, 

So  hard  they  tumbled  on  the  stones. 

hi 

Once  with  head  as  high  as  ever, 

Johnny  walked  beside  the  river, 

Johnny  watched  the  swallows  trying 
Which  was  cleverest  at  flying. 


Pl  ATE  D 


DRAWING  FROM  IMAGINATION 


19 


Oh!  What  fun! 

Johnny  watched  the  bright  round  sun, 
Going  in  and  coming  out, 

This  was  all  he  thought  about, 

So  he  strode  on,  only  think! 

To  the  river’s  very  brink, 

Where  the  bank  was  high  and  steep. 
And  the  water  very  deep; 

And  three  fishes  in  a row. 

Stared  to  see  him  coming  so. 


IV 

One  step  more!  oh!  sad  to  tell! 
Headlong  in  poor  Johnny  fell. 

The  three  little  fishes  in  dismay 
Wagged  their  heads  and  swam  away. 
But  as  they  were  passing  by 
Two  strong  men  had  heard  him  cry; 
And  with  sticks  these  two  strong  men 
Hooked  poor  Johnny  out  again. 

Oh!  you  should  have  seen  him  shiver 
When  they  pulled  him  from  the  river. 
He  was  in  a sorry  plight, 

Dripping  wet,  and  such  a fright! 

Wet  all  over,  everywhere, 

Clothes,  and  arms,  and  face,  and  hair, 
Johnny  never  will  forget 
What  it  is  to  be  so  wet. 

And  the  fishes,  one,  two,  three, 

Are  come  back  again,  you  see; 

Up  they  came  the  moment  after 
To  enjoy  the  fun  and  laughter. 

Each  popped  out  his  little  head 
And  to  tease  poor  Johnny,  said, 

“Silly  little  Johnny,  look! 

You  have  lost  your  writing  book.” 

Look  at  them  laughing,  and  do  you  see 
His  writing;  book  drifting-  far  to  sea  ? 

o o 


20 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


The  original  drawings  were  done  with  pencil  on 
nine  by  twelve  paper,  and  each  sheet  was  folded  and 
creased  for  four  scenes.  Because  these  are  repro- 
duced on  such  a small  scale,  some  of  the  original  effect 
is  lost,  but  the  essential  nature  of  the  drawings  remains. 
Notice  the  attitude  of  Johnny  in  Scene  J.  The  first 
effort  shows  no  action  and  is  much  like  the  symbol 
drawing  referred  to  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter. 
By  letting  a small  boy  impersonate  Johnny  by  walking 
with  upturned  head,  the  children  were  able  to  get  the 
effect  of  action.  Scene  il  was  also  dramatized,  one 
little  fellow  on  “all  fours”  playing  dog  while  he  and 
Johnny  acted  out  the  lines.  Notice  in  Scene  III 
the  variety  of  positions  in  which  Johnny  is  portrayed. 
One  of  the  children  has  kept  the  hero’s  head  “right 
side  up  with  care,”  while  inverting  the  body.  The 
effect  is  surely  grotesque.  Scene  IV  is  particularly 
interesting,  showing  as  it  does  the  various  methods  of 
rescue  which  occurred  to  the  children. 

In  cities  where  the  best  illustrative  drawing  is  done, 
it  is  not  done  haphazardly  but  according  to  a definite 
plan.  Tor  instance,  in  one  city  visited,  no  attempt  is 
made  to  show  perspective  in  the  street  scenes  of  the 
First  and  Second  Grades,  but  the  drawings  plainly 
showed  that  the  children  were  in  no  way  hampered  by 
this  way  of  working.  Many  stories  involving  street 
pictures  may  be  told  to  the  children,  for  in  a city, 
buildings  and  streets  constitute  much  of  the  child’s 
environment.  “The  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin”  is  one  ot 
the  favorites  of  the  children.  The  following  “Points 


IMPOR- 

TANCE 

DEFINITE 

PLAN 


Plate  E 


DRAWING  FROM  IMAGINATION 


21 


HELPING 

THE 

CHILDREN 


to  Emphasize”  is  taken  by  permission  from  the  Course 
of  Study  published  for  one  of  our  Western  cities,  and 
may  be  helpful  to  teachers  of  First  and  Second 
Grades. 

POINTS  TO  EMPHASIZE 

Placing  the  horizon  line. 

Treatment  of  sky,  foreground,  and  distant  foliage. 

Proportional  relation  of  objects. 

Showing  figures  and  animals  in  action  and  treating 
with  black  crayon. 

Houses,  trees,  animals,  and  people  placed  back  in 
the  picture  between  horizon  and  lower  edge  of  paper 
and  not  on  the  line. 

Roads  lighter  in  tone  than  the  grass,  the  rivers, 
brooks,  and  lakes  reflecting  the  color  of  the  sky. 

Back  of  fall  trees  and  houses  the  sky  is  visible. 

To  obtain  the  best  tone,  the  crayon  must  be  held 
close  to  the  paper  so  that  the  beveled  side  may  be  used. 


How  much  help  should  be  given  to  the  children  is 
a question  often  raised  by  the  teacher.  Many  a class 
of  bright,  imaginative  children  has  been  made  wholly 
dependent  upon  the  teacher  by  too  much  help.  It  has 
been  demonstrated  that  the  teacher  should  never  put 
her  own  idea  of  the  picture  on  the  chalkboard  to  serve 
as  a guide  for  the  children.  It  is  proper  for  her  to 
show7  the  children  how  to  draw  trees  in  the  mass  (Fig- 
7),  and  not  as  in  Fig.  8;  that  she  should  lead  the  chil- 
dren to  observe  and  to  express  distant  foliage  as  it 
appears  against  the  horizon  (Fig.  9),  etc.  In  giving 
such  help  to  the  children,  she  is  giving  them  a vocabu- 
lary by  which  to  express  themselves,  just  as  she  does  in 
language  work.  To  tell  a story  and  then  to  illustrate 


9 


22  TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


it  on  the  board  for  children  to  copy,  parallels  the  teach- 
ing of  language  and  the  development  of  the  power 
of  language  expression  by  the  parrot-like  repetition  of 
the  teacher’s  sentences. 

We  have  referred  to  the  dramatization  of  stories 
and  to  the  use  of  an  occasional  costume  pose  as  an  aid 
to  it.  Oftentimes  the  singing  of  an  appropriate  song 
just  before  the  lesson  puts  the  children  into  the  spirit 
of  the  story.  For  instance,  before  illustrating  a soldier 
story,  let  the  children  march  around  the  room  singing 
some  patriotic  song,  or  before  illustrating  “A  Windy 
Day,”  let  them  sing  one  of  those  charming  songs  telling 
of  the  pranks  of  the  wind.  Every  teacher  has  access 
to  such  songs,  and  in  many  ways  the  music  and  draw- 
ing may  be  made  helpful  to  one  another.  The  drawing 
of  some  object  is  often  a help  in  preparing  for  the 
illustration  of  a story.  Before  illustrating  “There  Was 
an  Old  Woman  Who  Lived  in  a Shoe,"  let  the  children 
bring  old  shoes  to  school  and  have  a drawing  lesson 
from  them.  The  next  day  when  you  tell  them  the  story, 
you  will  find  that  the  object  drawing  was  good  prepara- 
tion for  the  imaginative  work. 

Criticize  kindly  and  sympathetically.  The  teacher 
may  often  want  to  laugh  at  some  child’s  drawing  inter- 
pretation of  stories,  but  if  the  work  is  to  go  on  to  a 
profitable  ending,  she  should  repress  the  laugh.  Many 
a child’s  interest  has  been  lessened  and  his  efforts  dis- 
couraged by  the  thoughtless  laugh  of  a teacher.  Learn 
to  look  at  this  work  with  the  heart  of  a child,  but  with 
the  eyes  and  understanding  of  a true  teacher.  The 


GETTING 

SPIRIT 

OF 

STORY 


CRITICISM 


Plate  F 


DRAWING  FROM  IMAGINATION 


23 


most  ridiculous  drawings  of  the  children  should  never 
make  a teacher  forget  this,  although  many  have  been 
known  to  carry  some  of  the  drawings  home  for  the  very 
humor  of  them.  Draw  out  the  child’s  opinion  of  his 
own  effort.  Give  a word  of  praise,  if  possible,  remem- 
bering that  children  are  especially  susceptible  to  this. 

“The  love  of  praise,  howe’er  concealed  by  art 

Reigns  more  or  less,  and  glows  in  every  heart.” 

We  once  heard  a teacher  tell  the  story  of  the  “Bell 
of  Atri,”  so  well  known  to  Longfellow’s  readers.  She 
was  telling  it  in  installments,  as  the  story  contains 
material  for  a dozen  lessons.  The  children  were  in- 
tensely interested  in  that  part  of  the  poem  which  told 
of  the  hungry  old  horse  tugging  at  the  rope  of  the 
village  bell.  They  were  depicting  that  incident  with  an 
interest  which  was  good  to  see.  The  teacher  inspecting 
the  work  came  to  a discouraged  boy  whose  horse  coidd 
be  identified  only  by  its  tail.  As  she  came  down  the 
aisle,  he  covered  his  horse  with  a smudgy  hand,  but 
she  asked  to  see  it.  Instead  of  saying,  “Mercy!  What 
in  the  world  is  that?”  she  said,  “What  a fine  tail  your 
horse  has!  Surely,  a boy  who  can  draw  a horse’s  tail 
like  that  will  be  able  to  draw  a good  horse  some  day.” 
There  was  a horse  hitched  to  a delivery  wagon  across 
the  street.  She  took  the  boy  to  the  window  and  called 
his  attention  to  the  shape  of  the  horse’s  head,  the  way 
his  neck  arched,  etc.  She  asked  him  to  look  at  pictures 
of  horses  and  to  draw  from  a real  horse  at  home. 
He  came  back  to  his  seat  looking  very  important  and 


24 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


happy  because  his  horse  had  such  a fine  tail.  The 
accompanying  illustration  (Fig.  10)  shows  the  picture 
the  boy  drew  for  her  after  he  had  studied  horses.  The 
horse  would  not  be  taken  for  a thoroughbred,  but  it 
represents  the  earnest  loving  efforts  of  a little  lad  who 
wanted  to  “make  good.”  It  is  not  necessary  that  the 
teacher  perjure  herself  by  giving  undue  praise,  for 
children  are  easily  satisfied. 

Every  teacher  can  select  stories  for  illustration 
better  than  another  can  do  it  for  her.  She  knows  her 
own  conditions  and  the  peculiar  interests  and  activities 
of  the  community  in  which  she  teaches.  The  following 
list,  however,  may  be  helpful: 

The  Mother  Goose  Rhymes. 

Some  of  Edward  Lear’s  Nonsense  Rhymes. 

Many  of  Andersen's  stories,  particularly 
The  Proud  Teapot, 

The  Ugly  Duckling, 

The  Snow  Man. 

Also  such  subjects  as 

What  My  Father  Does, 

A Windy  Day, 

The  Game  I Like  Best, 

Flow  I Help  Mother, 

What  I Want  to  Do  in  Vacation, 

'What  I Saw  When  I Came  to  School  To-day, 

An  Accident, 

My  Ride  on  the  Street  Car, 

Our  Baby’s  Cat)  or  High  Chair, 

Something  We  Have  at  Our  House, 

Our  Street. 


SUGGEST- 

IVE 

LIST  OF 
STORIES 


10 


CHOICE 

AND 

CARE 

OF 

FLOWERS 


II.  DRAWING  FROM  NATURE 

“How  soon  can  a child  begin  painting  flowers  or 
other  plant  forms?”  is  a question  often  asked.  The 
answer  is  simple.  He  can  begin  as  soon  as  the  proper 
materials  are  placed  in  his  hands.  Many  teachers  hold 
that  all  his  earlier  work  in  drawing  should  be  done 
with  the  brush  either  in  color  or  in  ink,  color  prefer- 
ably; while  others  believe  in  the  use  of  pencil  or  char- 
coal. Certain  it  is  that  the  rich  glowing  colors  of  the 
autumn  months  offer  material  which  cannot  be  sur- 
passed for  training  the  color  sense  of  young  children. 

It  is  not  necessary  or  advisable  to  wait  until  the 
children  have  learned  how  to  paint  flat  washes  before 
allowing  them  to  attempt  simple  grasses  and  flowers, 
although  a lesson  should  be  given  on  the  distribution 
and  collection  of  materials  before  any  painting  is  done. 
The  chapter  on  the  Care  and  Distribution  of  Materials 
should  be  carefully  read  before  taking  up  the  water 
color  work. 

Choose  flowers  of  pronounced  and  brilliant  color 
rather  than  those  showing  more  delicate  and  subtle 
coloring.  If  you  are  a California  teacher,  you  have  a 
score  of  gay  flowers,  including  the  scarlet  poinsettia 
and  yellow  poppy,  unknown  to  the  children  of  the 
East  or  South.  Texas  children  have  the  wonderful 
thistles,  showing  every  tone  of  reddish  purple,  and  the 

Mexican  morning-glory  whose  intense  blue  has  no  equal 

25 


26 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


1 


elsewhere  for  brightness.  Nasturtiums,  zenias,  sun- 
flowers, flowering  beans,  salvia,  and  autumn  leaves 
upon  the  twig  are  all  excellent. 

'The  flowers  may  be  cut  the  evening  before  they  are 
to  be  used,  in  which  ease  the  stems  should  be  plunged 
into  water  almost  up  to  the  blossom.  If  this  is  done, 
they  will  remain  crisp  and  fresh  and  will  not  wilt  and 
droop  during  the  lesson.  Every  teacher  remembers 
the  short-stemmed,  bedraggled  little  specimens,  almost 
useless  as  working  ma'erial,  which  her  children  have 
brought  to  school  in  response  to  her  request  for  flowers 
to  paint.  One  lesson  from  flowers,  which  have  been 
carefully  selected  and  properly  cared  for,  is  worth  more 
than  a half  dozen  from  forlorn,  wilted  specimens. 

A set  of  tumblers,  old  cups,  or  large  bottles,  nearly 
filled  with  sand,  should  form  an  important  part  of  the 
teacher’s  drawing  outfit  for  the  room.  Before  giving  a 
lesson,  the  sand  should  be  moistened  and  the  flower 
stems  stuck  in  the  sand.  The  tumblers,  cups,  etc., 
should  then  be  placed  on  desk  boards.  See  diagram 
on  Page  135.  The  sand  not  only  holds  the  stems  firmly 
in  the  desired  position  but  gives  enough  weight  to 
prevent  possible  accidents  by  overturning.  The  flowers 
may  be  seen  more  easily  if  placed  in  front  of  a plain 
background.  By  joining  two  pieces  of  white  paste- 
board with  a cloth  hinge,  a useful  “shadow  box"  may 
be  made,  and  a set  of  these  backgrounds  should  form 
part  of  the  permanent  equipment  of  every  teacher. 
They  are  very  easily  made  and  extremely  helpful.  These 
shadow  boxes  may  be  used  as  shown  in  Figs.  1 and  2, 


PLACING 

THE 

FLOWERS 


3 


Plate  G 


DRAWING  FROM  NATURE 


27 


GRASSES 


and  if  the  specimen  to  be  drawn  is  a dry  twig,  needing 
no  water,  or  a bit  of  drooping  vine,  the  shadow  box 
may  be  used  as  an  easel  upon  which  to  pin  the  study, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  3.  When  the  plant  specimens  are 
large  like  sunflowers,  cannas,  cattails,  etc.,  a single 
specimen  properly  placed  is  sufficient  for  any  school- 
room of  ordinary  size.  It  may  be  placed  in  a large 
jar  on  the  teacher’s  desk,  and  if  a plain  background 
is  placed  behind  it,  the  form  may  be  seen  easily  by 
every  child. 

Green  grasses  or  sedges  furnish  the  best  material 
for  the  first  lesson.  In  giving  this  lesson,  one  might 
proceed  something  after  this  fashion:  Having  arranged 
the  children’s  studies,  and  attended  to  the  distribution 
of  materials,  pin  the  specimen  against  a sheet  of  white 
paper  where  all  the  children  can  see  it,  and  then,  if 
possible,  paint  it  before  them.  Show  them  how  the 
paints  are  first  moistened  by  dipping  the  brush  in 
water  and  quickly  drawing  it  across  the  blue;  then 
dipping  it  again  and  dampening  the  yellow.  (No  red 
will  be  needed  for  this  lesson.)  Show  the  children  how 
the  tip  of  the  brush  is  to  be  dipped  in  water,  applied 
to  the  yellow  and  blue  cakes,  and  tried  on  a scrap  of 
paper  to  see  if  the  blue  and  yellow  have  made  just  the 
right  green.  Show  them  how  to  sweep  in  the  stem  with 
the  brush  so  as  to  make  the  picture  tell  the  real  truth 
about  the  slant  of  the  stem.  With  a few  direct  strokes, 
show  how  the  leaves  branch  out  from  the  stem;  how 
this  one  stays  close  to  the  stem,  while  the  other  bends 
over  as  though  it  were  tired,  and  how  the  brush  can 


28 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


be  made  to  show  the  “fluffy  hair”  on  the  grass,  stand- 
ing out  in  all  directions.  Remove  your  own  specimen 
and  painting,  and  have  children  set  to  work  to  tell 
true  stories  about  the  appearance  of  their  grasses  with 
brush  and  paint.  What  clumsy  stems!  They  must  be 
shown  how  to  hold  the  brush  straight  up  like  a soldier, 
when  they  wish  to  make  narrow  stems,  instead  of 
letting  it  lie  over  on  its  side.  This  boy  has  made  his 
grass  bright  yellow.  He  must  be  shown  how  to  touch 
the  blue  into  it.  This  girl  is  so  interested  in  her  paint- 
ing that  she  forgets  to  look  at  her  grass,  and  the  result 
is  something  like  Fig.  4,  instead  of  Fig.  5.  “Would 
you  like  to  have  your  picture  taken  to  look  like  this 
(Fig.  6),  when  you  stood  like  this  (Fig.  7)  ? That  is 
what  you  have  done  to  your  grass.” 

Have  children  take  a fresh  sheet  of  paper  and  show 
how  the  stem  bends,  where  the  leaves  start  from  the 
stem,  and  how  the  leaves  also  bend. 

The  coarse  sedges  which  grow  by  the  country  road-  sedges 
sides  and  in  nearly  every  vacant  city  lot,  furnish  fine 
material  for  nature  drawing,  and  their  brown  tops 
give  the  children  an  opportunity  to  see  how  a touch  of 
red  added  to  the  yellow  and  blue  changes  the  color. 

The  dry  seed  pods  of  early  autumn  on  their  brown 
stems  also  furnish  excellent  material,  but  are  possibly 
better  for  ink  and  pencil  work  than  for  color. 

After  two  or  three  lessons  in  painting  grasses  or  flowers 
sedges,  the  teacher  need  not  hesitate  to  give  the  children 
flowers  to  paint.  The  brighter  the  color,  the  better 
will  be  the  lesson.  Take  for  example  the  salvia.  Hav- 


7 


DRAWING  FROM  NATURE 


29 


CRITICISM 


ing  arranged  the  flowers  so  that  every  child  has  a good 
view  of  one  specimen  and  with  working  materials  in 
readiness  on  the  desks,  pin  three  specimens  to  three 
sheets,  marked  A,  13,  C,  and  fasten  on  the  front 
chalkboard  (Figs.  8,  9,  10).  Tell  the  children  to 
watch  while  you  paint  and  to  raise  their  hands  as  soon 
as  they  can  tell  which  one  you  are  painting.  Of  course 
the  very  first  stroke  tells  the  story,  for  the  “action”  of 
the  stem  is  always  of  importance  in  “placing”  a draw- 
ing correctly  and  in  getting  the  feeling  of  growth. 
Show  the  children  how  one  or  two  Strokes  of  the  brush 
serves  to  show  how  each  red  flower  hangs  from  its  stem. 
Then  take  your  flowers  and  your  work  down  and  let 
them  tell  you-  with  their  brushes  how  their  flowers  look. 
The  teacher  may  say,  “Oh,  but  I cannot  paint.”  Any 
teacher  can  paint  well  enough  to  show  primary  children 
how  to  start  right,  and  many  a teacher  has  been  sur- 
prised at  the  way  she  has  developed  in  the  power  of 
expression  as  she  has  earnestly  tried  to  help  the  children. 
The  children  having  painted  the  flower  stalks  are  now 
ready  for  the  leaves.  Again  you  pin  up  your  specimen, 
and  this  time  you  show  them  how  careful  they  must  be 
to  wash  all  of  the  red  out  of  their  brushes  before  making 
their  green.  You  show  them  how  you  study  the  shape 
of  the  leaf  and  try  to  make  that  shape  with  the  paint. 
Again  you  remove  your  work,  and  have  them  go  on  with 
theirs,  while  you  inspect  their  efforts,  speaking  an  encour- 
aging word  here,  and  making  a helpful  suggestion  there. 

There  is  little  time  for  individual  criticism,  but  as 
the  same  mistakes  are  likely  to  be  made  by  nearly  all 


8 


10 


30 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


the  children,  practically  the  same  criticisms  and 
suggestions  apply  to  all.  Over  and  over  the  children 
must  he  taught  the  right  way  of  using  their  brushes, 
and  of  mixing  their  color  in  the  brush  instead  of  in  the 
cover  of  the  box  for  all  flower  painting.  One  very  good 
device  for  showing;  mistakes  and  making  suggestions 
to  all  the  children  at  once,  is  to  place  somewhere  in 
the  front  of  the  room  where  all  can  see,  large  sheets  of 
cheap  paper,  the  most  glaring  faults  in  the  children’s 
drawings  being  pointed  out  and  corrections  suggested 
on  these  sheets  before  the  entire  class.  Some  teachers 
get  old  sample  books  of  wall  paper  and  hang  them  up 
so  as  to  use  the  backs  of  the  separate  samples  for  this 
purpose. 

Teachers  will  sometimes  find  the  children  scrubbing 
their  leaves  with  a vim  which  promises  ill  for  the  brush 
and  which  produces  effects  something  like  this.  (Plate 
G,  Fig.  1.)  In  such  cases,  step  to  your  large  sheets,  and 
filling  your  brush  with  water  and  blue  and  yellow 
paint,  show  the  children  how  to  let  the  color  flow  on 
the  paper  instead  of  scrubbing  it  in.  (Plate  G,  Fig.  2.) 
If  you  find  children  drawing  a green  outline  for  each 
leaf  (Plate  G,  Fig.  3),  show  them  it  is  not  necessary 
to  make  a “fence”  around  the  leaf,  and  illustrate  how 
the  leaf  may  be  painted  with  no  enclosing  line  (Fig.  2). 
Constant  reiteration  and  infinite  patience  must  be 
practiced  by  the  teacher.  Children  will  be  found  who 
do  not  look  at  the  thing  they  are  painting.  Show  them 
how  you  use  your  eyes  every  minute  while  painting 
and  impress  upon  them  that  how  well  they  paint 


. 

'ij  ' 

1 

i 

Plate  H 


DRAWING  FROM  NATURE 


31 


ESTIMA- 

TING 

RESULTS 


ILLUSTRA- 

TIONS 


depends  upon  how  well  they  see  the  thing  they  are 
trying  to  picture. 

After  the  papers  have  been  collected  look  them 
over  at  your  leisure.  You  will  probably  ask,  “Did  it 
pay?”  after  looking  at  some  of  the  worst  of  the  papers 
with  their  shapeless  spots  of  red  and  green,  and  their 
smudgy  finger  marks.  You  will  recall  the  labor  of 
arranging  the  flowers  and  distributing  the  paints  and 
the  water,  and  will  feel  like  saying,  “No,  it  did  not 
pay.”  Looking  again  at  the  papers,  you  notice  how 
this  child  really  tried  to  show  the  drooping  stem  or  the 
leaf  as  it  bent  over.  You  remember  as  you  look  at 
another  child’s  paper  how  happy  he  was  when  he  told 
you  that  his  stem  was  the  best  he  had  ever  painted. 
The  chances  are  that  when  you  are  through  with  the 
papers,  you  will  have  found  that  many  of  the  children 
are  seeing  and  thinking  as  they  paint,  and  saying,  “Yes, 
it  did  pay,”  you  will  look  forward  with  anticipation  to 
the  next  lesson. 

(Plate  H.)  The  four  paintings  here  reproduced 
show  the  result  of  such  a lesson  as  above  described, 
taught  to  First  Grade  pupils  on  September  twentieth. 
Two  of  the  children  whose  work  was  selected  for 
reproduction  here  entered  school  for  the  first  time 
early  in  the  month,  while  the  other  two  entered  in 
January  preceding.  The  lesson  was  taught  by  the 
regular  grade  teacher — not  by  a Supervisor.  Although 
the  four  sheets  shown  were  selected  as  the  best  in  the 
set,  there  were  a score  of  others  nearly  as  good  and 
only  two  downright  failures  in  the  room. 


32 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


Many  Supervisors  say  they  teach  the  children  to 
look  for  the  shadows  on  the  leaves  from  the  start, 
while  others  say  they  care  nothing  about  light  and 
shade  at  this  stage  and  are  content  to  work  at  first 
merely  for  form  and  local  color. 

Experience  has  shown  that  children  can  be  led  very 
early  to  see  that  places  on  flowers,  leaves,  and  other 
objects,  which  the  direct  light  cannot  reach,  appear 
darker,  and  to  express  that  darkness  in  their  crude  and 
childish  way.  On  the  whole  it  may  be  well  to  say 
nothing  about  light  and  shade  to  First  Grade  pupils, 
unless  perhaps  to  exceptionally  talented  children  who 
are  ready  for  it,  but  in  the  Second  Grade  the  children 
may  be  led  by  means  of  many  simple  devices,  not  only 
to  see  the  light  and  shade  on  flowers  and  leaves,  but  to 
represent  it  more  or  less  effectively  in  their  drawings. 
One  of  the  ways  by  which  children  may  be  led  to 
observe  shadow  is  this:  Have  them  hold  out  their  two 
hands  with  the  palms  exposed  to  the  full  light;  then 
have  them  bring  the  hands  together  so  that  the  palms 
form  a sort  of  deep  cup  into  which  scarcely  any  light 
can  penetrate.  Lead  them  to  notice  there  is  a differ- 
ence in  the  appearance  of  the  palms  when  exposed  to 
the  full  light  and  when  held  to  form  a cup  and  the  light 
partly  shut  out;  that  they  show  dark  and  light  spots  in 
the  latter  position  which  are  not  apparent  in  the  former. 
Call  attention  to  the  same  thing  on  the  surface  of 
leaves  and  flowers,  and  let  them  paint  the  parts  darker 
that  seem  darker  to  them.  In  this  way  the  teacher  can 
gradually  lead  the  children  toward  expressing  light  and 


LIGHT 

AND 

SHADE 


Plate  I 


DRAWING  FROM  NATURE 


33 


DIRECT 

HANDLING 


MASSES 

RATHER 

THAN 

DETAIL 


shade  as  well  as  color,  although  it  is  not  well  to  force 
them  until  they  appear  to  he  ready  for  it.  Plate  G, 
Figs.  4 and  5,  show  the  same  flower  painted  first  with 
no  effort  at  light  and  shade  and  then  shown  with 
simple  shadows. 

Too  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  upon  the  necessity 
for  “direct  handling'’  in  the  water  color  work,  and  an 
explanatory  word  regarding  the  meaning  of  this  term 
will  not  come  amiss,  it  is  a well  known  fact  about 
water  colors,  that  the  more  they  are  mixed  and  “fussed 
with,”  the  more  muddy  and  flat  and  lifeless  they  be- 
come. Consequently,  if  one  wishes  brilliancy  and 
“snap”  in  his  flower  painting,  he  takes  his  colors 
directly  from  the  cake  of  paint  and  does  no  mixing  in 
his  box  cover.  The  Second  Grade  pupil  who  painted 
the  petunia  (Plate  I,  Fig.  1),  used  “direct  handling,” 
and  in  spite  of  the  wavering  lines  of  the  stem  and  his 
inability  to  show  how  the  center  of  the  flower  looked, 
he  put  real  vigor  into  the  drawing  because  of  the 
crisp  rich  color.  Had  he  mixed  his  blue  and  yellow  in 
his  pan  to  get  his  green,  and  his  blue  and  red  to  get  his 
purple,  his  colors  would  have  been  flat  and  lifeless. 
(Plate  I,  Fig.  2.)  Had  he  used  a green  or  purple  from 
some  box  containing  these  colors  ready-mixed,  his 
result  would  have  been  even  less  satisfactory. 

Children  are  lovers  of  detail,  and  their  natural 
tendency  is  to  give  undue  importance  to  the  unimpor- 
tant things.  They  see  the  notches  on  the  edge  of  the 
leaf,  the  veins  in  its  surface  and  many  other  details, 
and  in  trying  to  represent  these,  they  lose  sight  of  the 


34 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


large  shapes  and  masses  entirely.  Large  flowers  placed 
at  some  distance  from  them  are  especially  helpful  in 
overcoming  this  tendency,  as  they  can  see  only  the 
masses,  while  the  details  are  lost  to  them.  There  is  no 
flower  better  than  the  sunflower  for  such  lessons,  and 
paper  nine  by  twelve  inches  instead  of  six  by  nine  size 
should  be  used. 

In  arranging  fruit  for  the  children  to  paint,  try  to 
get  it  attached  to  a bit  of  twig  with  a leaf  or  two.  To 
paint  an  apple,  a cherry,  or  a plum  without  anything 
to  show  its  “growth,”  results  in  nothing  but  a more 
or  less  meaningless  shape.  The  twig  with  leaves  adds 
interest  by  showing  growth  and  gives  the  children 
something  more  to  study  than  the  isolated  fruit.  In 
painting  such  a twig  as  shown  in  Plate  G,  Fig.  6, 
let  the  children  paint  first  with  clear  water  the  size 
and  shape  of  the  apple.  Then,  while  the  paper  is  still 
wet,  let  them  drop  the  yellow  and  blue  on  this  wet 
surface  and  touch  in  the  red  to  show  the  apple’s  “rosy 
cheek.”  They  must  work  rapidly,  adding  leaves  and 
stem  after  the  fruit  has  been  painted.  Although  this 
may  sound  like  a recipe,  it  is  offered  simply  as  one 
good  way  of  getting  a result.  There  are  doubtless 
many  other  ways  just  as  good. 

Delightful  as  the  rich  coloring  of  the  fall  flowers, 
fruits,  and  foliage  are  to  the  children,  they  are  not 
more  fascinating  than  are  the  first  spring  twigs  and 
blossoms.  Even  before  the  buds  begin  to  swell,  the 
children  begin  to  talk  of  the  coming  days.  Their 
language  lessons  and  nature  songs  are  full  of 

O O O 


PAINTING 

FRUIT 


SPRING 

WORK 


DRAWING  FROM  NATURE 


35 


thoughts  of  the  great  miracle  which  is  soon  to  take 
place. 

Only  to  think,  just  under  the  snow 
Flowers  and  grasses  are  waiting  to  grow, 

Hark,  do  you  hear  them  rushing  about. 
Whispering  softly,  “I  want  to  get  out!” 

Only  be  patient  a few  weeks  more. 

And  the  warm,  kind  sun  will  open  the  door. 

The  brown  twigs  with  the  delicate  green  buds,  just 
bursting  out,  make  splendid  subjects  for  painting 
lessons,  and  the  little  box  which  each  child  in  some 
schools  has  on  his  desk  and  in  which  he  plants  a few 
kernels  of  corn  or  a few  beans,  furnishes  material  for 
some  fine  painting  lessons  in  connection  with  his 
nature  study.  Some  of  the  charming  child  literature 
about  growth  should  surely  find  its  way  into  these 
lessons. 

THE  LITTLE  PLANT 

In  the  heart  of  a seed. 

Buried  deep,  so  deep, 

A dear  little  plant 
Lay  fast  asleep. 

“Wake!”  said  the  sunshine, 

“And  creep  to  the  light.” 

“Wake!”  said  the  voice 

Of  the  raindrop  bright. 

The  little  plant  heard, 

And  it  rose  to  see 
What  the  wonderful 

Outside  world  might  be. 


shadow  The  children  enjoy  making  shadow  pictures,  and 
there  is  much  educational  value  in  these  exercises.  Of 


36 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


13 


course  the  problem  of  color  does  not  enter  into  this 
work,  but  it  is  important  to  select  studies  which  are 
strong:  in  form  and  irregular  in  outline. 

To  explain  shadow  pictures  to  the  children,  hold 
a sheet  of  paper  to  the  window  in  direct  sunlight. 
Placing  your  hand  behind  it,  let  them  see  liow  the 
shadow  of  your  hand  on  the  paper  tells  exactly  the 
shape  and  the  position  it  is  in.  Place  a spray  of 
flowers  behind  the  paper,  letting  the  children  note 
the  shadow  made  by  it  and  the  color  of  the  shadow. 
Follow  this  by  having  the  children  paint  shadow 
pictures  of  their  flowers.  Arrange  specimens  the 
same  as  for  painting  lessons,  choosing  those  having 
simple  and  strongly  characteristic  growth. 

The  persimmons  shown  in  Plate  J,  Fig.  1,  make 
an  excellent  shadow  study  for  First  Grade  pupils,  and 
many  fall  sedges,  seed  pods  on  the  stem,  and  sprays 
of  berries  or  burrs  would  be  equally  good.  The  flat 
washes  which  the  children  make  in  connection  with 
their  color  exercises  (Page  73)  form  effective 

backgrounds  for  these  silhouette  effects,  and  the 
mounting  of  these  panels  on  backgrounds  of  suitable 
proportion  adds  greatly  to  their  attractiveness.  (Plate 
J,  Fig.  2.)  In  the  Chapter  on  Special  Days,  there 
are  suggestions  for  using  these  shadow  pictures  in 
decorating  booklet  covers,  calendars,  etc. 

When  nature  work  is  done  with  pencil,  the  studies 
should  be  arranged  with  as  great  care  as  when  they  are 
to  be  done  in  color.  Some  difference  of  opinion  exists 
as  to  the  respective  value  of  outline  and  mass  work, 


PENCIL 

WORK 


Plate  J 


DRAWING  FROM  NATURE 


37 


CHOICE 

AND 

CARE 

OF 

PENCIL 


but  the  greater  number  of  Drawing  Teachers  and 
Supervisors  favor  the  mass  work  for  young  children 
as  being  a broader  method  and  one  better  calculated 
to  lead  the  child  away  from  the  representation  of  petty 
details.  Mass  work  with  pencil  also  gives  a better 
rendering  of  “texture”  than  can  be  obtained  in  outline. 
This  is  plainly  shown  in  the  drawings  of  pussy  willows 
here  reproduced  in  the  margin.  Both  were  drawn  by 
Second  Grade  children  and  are  carefully  drawn,  but 
the  outline  (Fig.  11)  gives  no  suggestion  of  the  contrast 
between  the  dark  shiny  stems  and  the  light  color  of 
the  fluffy  catkins,  while  the  mass  work  (Fig.  12)  shows 
this  contrast  plainly.  Notice  how  the  texture  of  the 
rough  shaggy  burrs  (Fig.  13)  is  shown  by  the  First 
Grade  child,  and  how  well  this  way  of  working  is 
adapted  to  bringing  out  the  fluffy  down  of  the  milk- 
weed against  its  hard  brown  pods.  (Fig.  14.)  Even 
the  First  Grade  boy  who  has  been  in  school  but  two 
months  has  brought  out  this  difference  very  well. 

For  any  effective  work  by  young  children  a very 
soft  pencil  is  necessary — one  whose  large  lead  lends 
itself  easily  and  naturally  to  the  drawing  of  shapes 
in  outline  or  to  expressing  these  same  forms  in  various 
degrees  of  darkness  to  show  color,  or  light  and  shade 
as  is  done  in  mass  drawing.  The  pencil  should  be 
sharpened  to  a conical  point,  and  in  doing  mass 
work,  should  be  held  so  that  the  pressure  does  not 
come  on  the  point  of  the  lead  but  on  its  beveled  sides. 
This  gives  the  child  a broad  line  and  enables  him  to 
represent  the  masses  of  dark  and  light  cpiickly  and 


38 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


easily.  Much  needless  waste  of  the  teacher’s  time  and 
wear  of  the  pencils  may  be  avoided  by  following  some 
of  the  suggestions  given  in  the  Chapter  on  the  Care 
and  Distribution  of  Materials. 

There  is  no  color  medium  so  well  adapted  to 
Nature  Work  as  water  colors,  yet  in  many  of  the  smaller 
places  the  local  conditions  make  the  use  of  paints  in 
the  schools  impracticable.  In  such  places  colored 
crayons  are  used  as  a substitute  and  often  with  in- 
teresting results.  The  crayons  chosen  should  be 
free  from  oil,  and  should  be  handled  in  much  the 
same  manner  as  are  the  pencils  in  mass  drawing. 
Because  of  the  bluntness  of  the  crayons  they  are  better 
suited  to  the  drawing  of  large  specimens  than  to  the 
rendering  of  those  showing  more  delicacy  of  line  and 
form.  This  same  thing;  is  true  of  charcoal  which  is 
frequently  used  in  place  of  pencil  in  the  First  and 
Second  Grades. 

Whether  we  work  with  water  colors,  brush  and  ink, 
pencil,  crayon  or  charcoal,  there  should  be  one  aim 
underlying  all  of  the  Nature  Work — to  get  the  child 
not  only  to  look  at  the  thing  he  is  drawing,  but  to  see 
it  and  to  carry  its  form  in  his  mind  and  set  it  down 
upon  his  paper  as  truthfully  as  he  can.  The  little 
girl  was  right  when  she  looked  up  at  her  teacher  and 
said,  “I  know  now  what  drawing  is.  It  is  thinking 
and  then  marking  ’round  the  think.” 

Teach  the  children  to  think  while  they  draw. 


COLORED 

CRAYONS 


MANY 

MEDIUMS 

BUT 

ONE  AIM 


Plate  K 


III.  DRAWING  FROM  PEOPLE 


The  Primary  teacher,  who  is  looking  only  for  imme- 
diate and  showy  results,  would  better  never  attempt 
to  teach  pose  drawing  unless  she  is  prepared  for  dis- 
appointment, for  the  very  best  presentation  of  the 
lesson  will  be  attended  by  results  which  such  a teacher 
would  count  failures.  Fortunately,  the  day  has  passed 
when  we  work  for  paper  results  alone;  when  the  chil- 
dren, regarded  as  so  many  oiled  and  cleverly  manipu- 
lated machines,  were  made  to  turn  out  drawings  hav- 
ing a certain  number  of  meaningless  straight  lines  or 
curves.  ' 

The  understanding  and  sympathetic  teacher  of  today 
feels  that  the  crude,  grotesque  pose  drawings  into 
which  the  child  puts  his  loving,  joyous,  spontaneous 
effort,  are  worth  far  more  to  his  interest  and  develop- 
ment than  the  joyless  overworked  drawings  by  which 
results  were  estimated  in  former  days.  To  the  con- 
scientious teacher  who,  having  cheerfully  given  her 
children  the  best  help  possible  in  pose  drawing,  yet 
feels  at  the  close  of  the  year  that  they  have  made 
but  little  progress,  we  would  suggest  the  following 
plan:  When  the  first  school  days  come,  give  a pose 
lesson.  Give  it  to  the  best  of  your  ability.  Even  go 
to  the  trouble  of  writing  the  children’s  names  on  the 
papers,  if  they  cannot  yet  write  their  own.  Lay  the 

exercises  away  and  do  not  look  at  them  till  the  fol- 

39 


40 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


1 


2 


3 


o 


X 


X 


\1/? 

k 

A 

! G 

-r 


t 


lowing  spring.  Then  try  the  same  pose  again  and 
compare  results  with  the  first  lesson.  The  drawings 
will  still  appear  very  crude,  yet  will  undoubtedly  show 
many  encouraging  evidences  of  growth. 

Perhaps  the  pose  was  that  of  a child  washing  at 
a toy  tub.  The  first  set  of  drawings  were  more  or 
less  symbolical.  (Fig.  1.)  Pupils  who  saw  the  back 
or  side  of  the  child  posing  drew  the  same  symbol 
as  those  having  a front  view.  There  was  absolutely 
no  action.  Now  you  find  that  the  children  are  using 
their  eyes.  In  many  cases  you  find  they  have  repre- 
sented the  pose  as  seen  from  their  position.  (Figs.  2 
and  3.)  You  have  no  reason  to  be  discouraged.  Edu- 
cationally, pose  work  is  particularly  good  in  that  the 
children  must  learn  to  concentrate  their  attention — to 
see  when  they  look,  inasmuch  as  the  children  can 
pose  well  only  a short  time.  The  lessons  may  also  be 
made  to  correlate  delightfully  with  the  Language  Work, 
the  Changing  Seasons,  and  the  Special  Days,  and  be- 
cause of  the  variety  of  subjects  from  which  to  choose, 
there  is  little  danger  of  monotony. 

Great  diversity  of  opinion  exists  among  Supervisors  mediums 
as  to  the  best  mediums  and  methods  for  teaching  this  p^E 
work.  Some  advise  brush  and  ink  or  water  color,  work 
and  some  pencil  or  charcoal. 

Some  teachers  believe  strongly  in  the  value  of  straight 

straight  line  drawing  for  action,  while  others  are  less  drawing 

enthusiastic  about  it.  If  it  be  admitted  that  the  main  FOR 

, . 1 ACTION 

province  ot  this  work  m the  Primary  Grades  is  to 

prepare  the  children  for  illustrative  drawing,  then  the 


5 


6 


DRAWING  FROM  PEOPLE 


41 


drawing  of  straight  line  figures  has  a real  value,  for 
we  know  of  no  better  way  by  which  children  may  be 
led  to  see  and  represent  action  than  by  the  use  of 
these  exercises.  They  do  not  take  the  place  of  real 
pose  work,  and  only  an  occasional  lesson  is  needed 
to  accomplish  our  purpose. 

SUGGEST-  A boy  stands  on  the  desk,  facing  the  school; 
lessons  ^ie  stands  very  straight  like  a soldier  and  is  given  a 
pointer  to  represent  a gun.  Ask  the  children  to  hold 
their  pencils  the  way  he  is  standing.  Ask  them  to 
draw  one  line  to  show  how  he  is  standing.  It  should 
be  a vertical  line.  Let  him  lie  straight  on  the  table. 
Ask  them  to  draw  one  line  to  show  how  he  is  lying. 
The  result  should  be  a horizontal  line.  Let  him  stand 
with  side  to  the  school  and  bow.  A single  straight  line 
would  not  represent  his  position  while  bowing,  and 
so  two  straight  lines  making  an  angle  are  drawn.  Next 
let  him  stand  with  arms  akimbo  and  feet  far  apart, 
and  let  the  children  tell  how  many  lines  it  will  take 
to  show  his  position  now.  The  children  count  the  lines 
(Fig.  4)  aloud  while  the  boy  poses,  and  then  draw 
them  to  make  the  picture.  Another  boy  takes  a pose 
just  as  simple,  and  in  like  manner  the  children  draw 
another  “straight  line  boy.”  Almost  every  position 
and  action  may  be  shown  in  this  way,  Figs.  5-10.  After 
the  children  have  gotten  the  idea  of  action  in  this 
manner,  let  them  go  a step  farther.  Talk  to  them 
about  the  bones — the  way  our  flesh  and  clothes  cover 
them,  and  tell  them  that  in  the  next  lesson  we  will 
clothe  our  straight  line  children. 


10 


/ 


42 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


12 


Pose  a boy  and  a girl  and  draw  the  action  lines  changing 

on  the  chalkboard  while  the  pupils  watch  closely.  pjcTURES 

Talk  while  you  work,  asking  the  children  to  notice  how  TO 

. ' . . . SHADOW 

much  you  have  shown  in  your  lirst  picture.  (Fig.  11.)  pictures 
They  will  easily  see  you  have  shown  two  people,  one 
taller  than  the  other,  and  that  you  have  made  them 
appear  very  thin  when  in  reality  the  children  you  are 
drawing  are  not  thin.  Show  their  real  shape  in  some 
shadow  pictures.  Work  over  the  skeleton  figures, 
saying  you  are  clothing  them,  until  you  have  this 
result.  (Fig.  12.)  In  clothing  your  straight  line  chil- 
dren take  pains  to  retain  the  same  action  shown  in 
Fig.  11.  The  children  will  be  delighted  with  the  final 
shadow  picture  you  have  shown  them,  and  impatient 
to  try  it  themselves.  Let  them  do  a straight  line 
figure  and  then  change  it  into  a shadow  picture. 

The  following  incident  is  related  to  show  how  easily 
interest  may  be  awakened  in  this  kind  of  work.  Once 
when  the  writer  was  passing  out  of  a schoolroom,  she 
saw  some  excellent  action  drawings  in  line  pinned  on 
the  door.  One  was  like  this  (Fig.  13),  the  difference 
in  the  size  of  the  two  figures  probably  being  an  acci- 
dent. Taking  advantage  of  this,  and  using  brush  and 
ink,  she  rapidly  changed  the  skeleton  picture  into  a 
shadow  picture  (Fig.  14),  while  making  up  a story  to 
fit  the  picture,  about  the  boy,  who  came  to  school 
late  and  was  told  by  his  teacher  that  it  mustn’t  happen 
again.  The  imaginations  of  the  children  easily  fitted 
the  picture  to  the  story,  after  noticing  the  position, 
size  and  clothing  of  the  two  figures.  The  children 


13 


14 


DRAWING  FROM  PEOPLE 


43 


COLOR 

OVER 

ACTION 

LINES 


had  never  tried  to  clothe  their  skeleton  figures  before, 
and  a gale  of  delight  swept  over  the  room  when  they 
discovered  how  easily  this  could  be  done.  Immedi- 
ately afterwards,  under  the  direction  of  the  grade 
teacher,  the  pupils  were  given  an  opportunity  to  draw 
from  a new  pose  in  the  same  way,  which  they  did 
with  great  enthusiasm  and  excellent  results. 

As  an  easy  sequence  to  these  shadow  pictures, 
simple  color  poses  may  be  worked  out  in  the  same 
way.  Fig.  15  shows  a child’s  version  of 


Jack  be  nimble, 
Jack  be  quick, 
Jack  jump  over 
The  candle-stick 


Probably  a boy  was  asked  to  jump  while  the  other 
children  watched  the  action  of  his  legs  and  arms  dur- 
ing the  performance,  afterwards  drawing  such  figures 
as  these  (Figs.  16,  17,  18)  and  covering  the  pencil  lines 
with  color  to  show  the  boy’s  red  sweater,  blue  trousers, 
and  black  stockings.  Although  the  colors  are  not  shown 
in  this  reproduction,  the  effect  may  be  easily  imagined. 
straight  Exercises  in  pose  drawing  like  those  described  will 
figures  Prove  a great  kelp  in  illustrative  drawing.  Children 
in  will  learn  not  only  to  show  action  and  proportion,  but 
TIVE  may  be  led  also  to  show  nearness  and  farness  by 
work  Yarying  the  size  of  their  figures  based  on  the  facts  of 
observation.  (Figs.  19,  20.)  It  should  be  noted,  how- 
ever, that  while  action  drawing  lias  a place  of  its  own 
which  nothing  else  can  fill,  it  does  not  and  cannot 
take  the  place  of  the  regular  pose  drawing. 


W.  ~ 

! 

§ 


Jt 

& 


18 


44 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


'The  most  commonly  used  medium  is  either  a 
pencil  with  a large  soft  lead,  or  charcoal,  which  may 
be  used  for  both  outline  and  mass  work.  If  mass 
work  is  desired,  do  not  allow  the  children  to  outline 
the  shapes  first,  but  teach  them  to  show  the  shape 
directly  in  the  mass,  using  the  pencil  almost  as  though 
it  were  a brush.  Fig.  21  is  an  outline,  Fig.  22  is  a 
mass  drawing.  In  Fig.  22,  one  can  plainly  see  that 
the  girl’s  sunbonnet  is  lighter  than  her  blue  dress, 
and  that  her  stockings  and  shoes  are  darker  than  her 
dress.  No  attempt  should  be  made  to  show  light  and 
shade  except  in  the  very  simplest  way.  Fig.  23  shows 
the  effect  when  the  shape  is  first  outlined  and  then 
filled  in.  Such  work  should  be  discouraged  at  this 
stage.  In  some  cities  all  of  the  pencil  pose  drawing 
is  done  in  “mass;”  in  others  it  is  done  in  outline. 

Brush  and  ink  are  considered  excellent  for  this 
work  because  they  make  it  difficult  for  the  child  to 
show  unnecessary  details,  such  as  shoe-buttons,  polka- 
dots,  etc.  Plate  K shows  a few  reproductions  from 
children’s  brush  and  ink  efforts  in  pose  work. 

By  way  of  adding  a little  variety  to  the  silhouette 
work,  try  an  occasional  pose  drawing  in  brush  and 
ink  and  one  color.  The  use  of  red  for  the  apples, 
doll  carriage,  sunbonnet,  and  watering-can  in  these 
pose  drawings  gives  a note  of  color  which  delights  the 
children  and  in  no  way  detracts  from  the  value  of 
the  lesson.  (See  Plate  L.) 

Fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  are  usually  allowed  for 
a lesson  in  pose  drawing,  but  that  does  not  mean 


REGULAR 

POSE 

WORK 


BRUSH 

AND 

INK 

AND 

COLOR 


TIME  FOR 
A POSE 
DRAWING 


20 


Plate  L 


DRAWING  FROM  PEOPLE 


45 


WHERE 

TO 

POSE 

THE 

CHILD 


COSTUME 

POSES 


that  a child  should  pose  for  that  length  of  time.  In 
doing  the  little  action  drawings,  only  a couple  of 
minutes  are  needed  for  each  pose,  and  the  sheet,  when 
finished,  should  contain  a number  of  small  drawings 
rather  than  one  large  one.  In  the  more  studied  work 
where  one  position  is  used  for  the  entire  lesson,  the 
model  poses  for  a minute  or  two,  then  rests  a minute, 
returning  to  the  same  position  after  each  rest.  Chil- 
dren do  not  need  a long  time  for  a drawing  lesson 
of  this  kind.  They  do  not  know  how  to  work  slowly 
and  carefully,  and  fifteen  minutes  for  the  work  and 
five  minutes  for  the  distribution  and  collection  of 
materials,  is  ample  time.  In  places,  however,  where 
the  period  is  only  fifteen  minutes,  including  the  time 
for  distribution  and  collection  of  materials,  teachers 
must  necessarily  work  at  a disadvantage  and  must  plan 
to  cover  less  ground.  Plate  M shows  four  reproductions 
of  pencil  drawings  made  by  Second  Grade  children. 

The  teacher’s  desk  makes  a good  place  to  pose 
the  children,  for  when  a child  stands  upon  it,  he 
may  be  easily  seen  from  all  parts  of  the  room.  A 
large  piece  of  manila  paper  may  be  used  to  protect 
the  desk  from  being  marred  or  otherwise  injured. 

Reference  was  made  to  this  subject  in  the  Chapter 
on  Drawing  from  Imagination,  and  much  more  might 
be  said  in  this  connection.  A fur  or  lap  robe  and 
a cap  pulled  over  the  ears  make  an  Esquimo  pose 
which  lends  interest  to  the  Agoonac  Story.  Diminutive 
Indian,  fireman  and  soldier  costumes,  etc.,  are  the 
proud  possession  of  many  a small  boy  who  will  bring 


22 


23 


46 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


them  to  school  without  urging,  while,  thanks  to  the 
imagination  of  the  child,  a newspaper  folded  into  a 
cocked  hat  and  combined  with  a flag,  a toy  gun,  a 
sword,  or  a drum  will  give  a variety  of  military  poses 
at  least.  A boy  who  is  invited  to  stand  up  before 
the  children  on  some  rainy  day  and  let  them  draw 
his  picture  in  mackintosh,  rubber  boots,  and  a big 
rubber  hat  is  as  proud  as  a king,  and  some  rainy- 
day  song  or  verse  helps  out  the  picture,  as 

“In  mackintoshes,  rubber  boots,  with  lovely  big  um- 
brellas 

We  dare  the  rain,  defy  the  flood  in  these  our  storm 
dispellers. 

Our  big  umbrellas  we  upraise,  and  ’neath  their  tent- 
like  shelter, 

We  march  and  keep  as  dry  as  bones,  nor  hurry  helter- 
skelter.” 

Getting  the  children  into  the  “spirit  of  the  lesson” 
is  half  the  result,  and  whenever  a verse  is  found  which 
suggests  a good  pose,  cut  it  out  and  use  it.  Here  is 
one  which  would  be  fine  for  a gardening  pose: 

IN  THE  GARDEN. 

BY  W.  E.  KEYES. 

Betty’s  watering  the  pinks, 

Arthur’s  pulling  weeds; 

Laura  by  the  arbor  stoops, 

Sowing  foxglove  seeds; 

Tommy’s  in  among  the  phlox. 

Raking  carefully, — 

Every  child  is  hard  at  work, — 

Busy  as  a bee! 


SUGGEST- 

IVE 

VERSES 

OR 

SONGS 


30 


Plate  M 


DRAWING  FROM  PEOPLE 


47 


Stout  old  Yellow-Belt,  the  bee, 

Visits  every  bed; 

Glances  at  the  gardeners, 

Shakes  his  dusty  head; 

Zigzags  homeward  with  his  sack 
Full  of  honey  piled, 

Thinking  proudly,  “Why,  I’ve  been 
Busy  as  a child!” 

— Youth’s  Companion. 

And  what  coidd  be  finer  as  an  introduction  to  a kite- 
flying pose  than  this.  Although  the  kite  is  stationary 
and  pinned  to  the  wall  and  the  boy  simply  holds  a 
string  attached  to  it,  he  cannot  fail  to  catch  some  of 
the  spirit  of  real  kite-flying  after  hearing  the  rhyme. 

KITE-FLYING. 

BY  CAROLYN  WELLS. 

My  kite  goes  up  so  very  high, 

1 think  that  it  must  scrape  the  sky. 

And  when  I pull  it  down,  I'll  find 
Some  blue  stuck  on  to  it  behind. 

It  wags  its  tail  like  anything — 

I have  to  have  the  strongest  string;. 

It  nearly  pulls  me  way  up-town — 

It's  just  like  fishing,  upside  down. 

— Youth’s  Companion. 

variety  Many  teachers  have  the  notion  it  will  not  do  to 
have  the  children  of  the  First  and  Second  Grades 
draw  anything  but  back  views.  This  will  result  sooner 
or  later  in  a deadly  monotony  and  a consequent  lack 
of  interest.  Children  will  get  much  more  out  of  a 
difficult  pose  which  interests  them  than  out  of  a simple 
one  which  does  not.  They  love  variety. 


37 


36 


48 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


Children  like  poses  which  show  some  activity. 
Housekeeping  poses,  showing  girls  dusting,  scrubbing, 
sweeping,  or  washing  are  always  interesting  to  them. 
So  also  are  the  ones  in  which  the  boys  represent  car- 
penters, fishermen,  hunters,  soldiers. 

The  following  is  a list  of  poses  which  should  prove 
helpful,  and  any  teacher  will  be  able  to  add  to  the 
list  such  poses  as  she  finds  especially  suited  to  her 
own  conditions. 


Seasonable 

Poses 


Fall 


Winter 


Farmer  boy  bringing  vegetables 
to  market  or  carrying  sickle. 
Halloween  poses. 

! Boy  with  gun. 

Puritan  poses]  Girl  with  knitting 
l or  spinning  wheel. 

[ Sled  poses. 

{ Child  bundled  up  to  protect 
J from  Jack  Frost, 
j Christmas  poses. 

| Boy  putting  on  skates. 


> j t U l 111  V/JLJL  kJIVU 

Valentine  postman. 


f 


Spring  Gardening  poses 


With  rake. 
With  hoe. 
With  spade. 
With  water- 
ing-can. 


Miscellaneous 

Poses. 


Sweeping. 

Fishing. 

Painting. 

Pulling. 

Pushing. 

Carrying  pail. 

Climbing. 


Drumming. 

Digging;. 

Bowing. 

Washing. 

Ironing. 

Carrying  banner. 
Etc. 


OCCUPA- 

TION 

POSES 


SUG- 

GESTED 

POSES 


43 


44 


IV.  DRAWING  FROAI  ANIMALS 


DRAW- 

ING 

ANIMALS 

OUT-OF- 

DOORS 


The  chapter  on  animal  drawing  follows  immedi- 
ately the  one  on  pose  drawing  because  they  are  so 
closely  related  in  method,  and  because  power  gained 
in  the  former  may  be  immediately  applied  in  the 
latter  and  under  practically  the  same  conditions.  The 
chief  difference  is  that  the  children  are  more  tractable 
for  the  poses  than  their  furred  and  feathered  friends. 
The  tendency  of  animals,  however,  to  constantly  change 
their  position  stimulates  quick  accurate  observation  on 
the  part  of  the  children. 

If  your  school  is  so  situated  that  there  is  a horse, 
a cow,  a goat,  or  a donkey,  in  some  neighboring  lot 
or  yard,  you  have  ideal  conditions  for  an  occasional 
animal  lesson,  for  these  large  animals  stand  much  more 
quietly  than  the  smaller  ones  which  are  brought  into 
the  schoolroom  for  study.  Besides,  most  animals  are 
less  nervous  and  restless  when  in  their  own  environ- 
ment than  when  taken  out  of  it  and  into  the  strange 
surroundings  of  a school,  and  the  presence  in  some 
cases  of  their  hereditary  enemies.  In  a few  favored 
schools  which  chance  to  be  located  near  a city  park 
in  which  a Zoo  is  maintained,  the  children  have  had 
some  fascinating  lessons  in  drawing  buffaloes,  deer, 
bears,  and  ostriches.  Standing  outside  of  the  grat- 
ing, pencil  and  pad  in  hand,  the  children  have 
tried  to  tell  all  about  the  shapes  of  these  erea- 

49 


50 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


2 


tures,  and  their  keen  interest  so  stimulated  their  sense 
of  observation  that  the  results  were  most  creditable, 
ddie  swans  in  the  park  lagoon  have  frequently  served 
as  objects  for  the  children  to  draw.  Very  often  a pet 
pony  or  burro  has  been  brought  into  the  school-yard 
and  has  furnished  the  children  with  a fine  subject  for 
a drawing  lesson. 

It  is  a great  treat  for  the  children  to  take  paper,  frepara- 
pencil,  and  a book  on  which  to  rest  the  paper,  and  J}.™ EOR 
go  out  of  doors  for  a lesson,  but  before  leaving  the  door 
room  they  should  be  prepared  in  a measure  for  the  LESSON 
lesson.  By  careful  questioning  the  teacher  should 
direct  the  attention  of  the  children  to  leading  char- 
acteristics in  the  form  of  the  animal  they  are  about  to 
draw. 

If  it  should  happen  to  be  a donkey,  she  would 
want  to  direct  attention  especially  to  the  ears  and 
tail,  comparing  with  the  horse  with  which  they  are 
more  familiar,  having  the  children  tell  in  what  respects 
the  donkey  is  like  and  unlike  a horse.  Impress  upon 
them  that  they  are  going  to  tell  in  their  pictures  just 
how  the  donkey  looks;  that  they  are  going  to  tell  his 
shape  when  looked  at  from  the  side,  from  the  front 
and  from  behind.  If  the  teacher  has  some  toy  animal 
to  show  the  children,  she  can,  by  placing  the  toy  in 
various  positions,  make  clear  why  there  will  be  a 
difference  in  the  pictures  of  the  donkey,  depending 
upon  whether  he  is  seen  from  the  side,  the  front,  etc. 

Even  small  children  may  be  led  to  understand  that 
what  they  see  when  they  look  at  the  donkey  depends 


3 


DRAWING  FROM  ANIMALS 


51 


PLACING 

THE 

CHILDREN 


upon  where  they  are  sitting  or  standing  when  they 
draw.  If  the  teacher  is  clever  with  her  chalk,  she 
can  illustrate  her  meaning  by  a few  rapid  strokes  on 
the  chalk  board,  but  these  should  be  quickly  made 
and  as  quickly  erased.  The  success  of  the  lesson 
depends  largely  upon  the  way  in  which  the  preliminary 
work  is  done. 

An  out-of-door  lesson  should  never  be  given  when 
the  weather  is  such  as  to  threaten  the  health  of  the 
children  from  exposure.  If,  however,  the  day  is  warm 
and  bright  and  the  ground  dry,  the  children  may  sit 
on  the  grass  in  groups  of  eight  or  ten,  with  these 
groups  not  too  widely  separated.  This  plan  is  better 
than  massing;  all  of  the  children  together.  Each  child 
can  get  a better  view  of  the  object  and  at  the  same 
time  this  placing  will  ensure  greater  variety  in  the 
drawings  on  account  of  the  greater  variation  in  points 
of  seeing.  Sometimes  the  boys  sit  on  the  fence  while 
the  girls  stand  and  look  through  the  bars.  Sometimes 
the  steps  of  the  schoolhouse  are  used  as  a “grand  stand,” 
and,  as  before  suggested,  a pet  pony  or  goat  is  brought 
into  the  school-yard  for  a drawing  lesson. 

If  the  children  are  arranged  in  groups  or  along 
the  fence,  it  is  an  easy  matter  for  the  teacher  to  pass 
in  and  out  among  them  with  a suggestion  for  this 
child  and  a word  of  encouragement  for  that.  In  case 
the  school  steps  are  used,  she  will  find  the  top  step 
a fine  vantage  point,  and  seated  just  above  the  chil- 
dren, she  can  view  the  work  of  the  entire  class  and 
frequently  give  suggestions  that  are  needed  by  each 


6 


52 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


and  all.  Occasionally,  some  boy  or  girl  from  an  upper 
grade,  who  is  especially  talented,  assists  the  teacher  in 
these  out-of-door  lessons. 

This  work  depends  largely  upon  local  conditions, 
such  as  climate,  location  of  school,  number  of  pupils, 
etc.,  but  generally  speaking,  such  lessons  should  be  given 
as  often  as  the  time  assigned  to  drawing,  and  the  other 
drawing  work  will  permit.  Rightly  taught,  the  work 
has  great  value,  strengthening  the  children's  powers  of 
observation  and  expression,  stimulating  their  interest  in 
nature  study,  and  furnishing  material  for  their  lan- 
guage lessons. 

Out-of-door  lessons  are  impossible  in  many  city 
districts,  and  in  such  cases  the  animal  should  be 
brought  to  the  schoolroom.  Pet  dogs,  rabbits,  parrots, 
chickens,  geese,  and  pigeons  are  suitable  for  such  les- 
sons. Provide  your  animal,  either  by  bringing  it  your- 
self or  by  having  it  brought  by  the  children.  If  you 
depend  upon  the  children  to  bring  an  animal  for  some 
particular  lesson,  you  would  better  not  depend  upon 
any  one  child,  as  he  is  quite  likely  to  forget.  We 
recall  instances,  however,  when  such  was  not  the  case. 
In  a district  where  fowls  are  plentiful,  we  knew  a 
teacher  who  asked  eight  of  her  boys  to  bring  a rooster, 
thinking  she  would  be  sure  to  get  one  specimen  for 
the  painting  lesson  in  the  afternoon.  Contrary  to  her 
expectations,  they  remembered  “to  a man,”  and  eight 
crowing,  flapping  birds  held  by  eight  red-faced  boys 
awaited  her  arrival  when  school  opened.  It  was  to 
say  the  least  an  “embarrassment  of  riches.” 


FREQUEN- 
CY OF 
OUT-OF- 
DOOR 
LESSONS 


DRAWING 
ANIMALS 
IN  THE 
SCHOOL- 
ROOM 


10 


DRAWING  FROM  ANIMALS 


53 


POSING 

THE 

ANIMAL 


SUITABLE 

MEDIUMS 


It  is  not  a bad  plan  to  use  two  animals  widely 
differing  in  shape  and  proportion  for  one  lesson,  for 
instance,  a pigeon  and  a rooster  or  a bulldog  and  a 
terrier,  alternating  the  pose  of  one  with  the  other  and 
thus  bringing  out  the  characteristics  of  each  more 
strongly.  If  the  lesson  is  limited  to  fifteen  minutes, 
as  it  is  in  a few  places,  it  is  advisable  to  devote  the 
entire  period  to  one  animal. 

The  teacher’s  desk  makes  a good  “model  stand” 
on  which  to  place  the  animals,  after  all  other  objects 
have  been  removed  and  it  has  been  covered  with 
newspapers.  The  animal  should  be  made  to  feel  at 
home.  A few  cabbage  leaves  for  the  rabbit  will 
insure  some  very  interesting  poses  and  will  help  to 
keep  him  quiet.  Com  sprinkled  over  the  desk  for 
the  pet  rooster  will  be  much  appreciated  by  his  royal 
highness.  It  is  not  necessary  or  desirable  that  the 
animal  remain  rigidly  quiet,  even  were  it  possible. 
Much  of  the  value  of  the  lesson  depends  upon  its 
liability  to  move  at  any  instant,  thereby  making  the 
children  alert  and  quick  in  their  drawing.  However, 
the  boy  or  girl  who  owns  the  pet,  if  a pet  animal  has 
been  brought,  can  stand  near  the  desk  and  occa- 
sionally quiet  it  with  a word  or  a comforting  stroke 
of  its  fur  or  feathers. 

For  the  out-of-door  lesson,  the  pencil  is  probably 
the  best  medium,  but  for  those  that  are  given  in  the 
schoolroom,  charcoal,  crayons,  brush  and  ink,  or  water 
colors  may  be  used. 

The  parrot  is  especially  hue  for  painting  on  account 


54 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


of  his  bright  plumage,  but  he  is  quite  a rare  bird  com- 
pared with  the  rooster,  which  eau  be  found  in  almost  any 
district.  There  is  no  better  animal  than  the  rooster 
for  representation  in  color.  He  is  excellent  for  pencil, 
or  brush,  or  ink,  but  tor  treatment  in  color  he  is  hard 
to  excel  because  his  shape  is  so  characteristic,  and 
because  his  colors  are  so  rich  they  appeal  very  strongly 
to  the  children.  S he  chief  points  to  be  given  promi- 
nence in  studying  the  rooster  are  his  small  head,  his 
comb,  his  arched  neck,  the  short  distance  between  his 
neck  and  his  tail,  the  height  of  his  head  as  compared 
with  that  of  his  tail,  the  slant  of  his  legs  and  the 
shape  of  his  feet.  Children  always  draw  the  feet  of 
any  bird  or  fowl  as  though  the  creature  were  bal- 
ancing on  tip-toe.  A few  strokes  of  your  chalk  or 
brush  will  show  them  that  the  claws  are  more  nearly 
level  than  upright. 

In  this  connection,  it  may  be  well  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  importance  of  studying  carefully  the  feet 
and  legs  of  any  animal  before  drawing  it.  The 
characteristic  shape  of  many  animals  is  determined 
largely  by  their  legs— whether  they  are  straight  or  ben  t? 
thick  or  slender,  slanting  or  vertical,  and  by  the  way 
in  which  they  are  joined  to  the  body.  In  drawing 
birds,  children  almost  always  place  the  legs  under  the 
middle  of  the  body  instead  of  farther  back,  and  they 
frequently  forget  to  notice  that  the  legs  are  seldom 
vertical. 

Plate  N shows  reproductions  from  the  work  of 
First  and  Second  Grade  pupils.  Notice  that  although 


C 

v;  ■ x:  i \ 

J b 


"X 

•y\ 

- ■ ... 

As  / 


//■'7 ' 


u t l 


GOOD 

SUBJECTS 

FOR 

WATER 

COLORS 


REPRO- 

DUCTIONS 


19 


Plate  N 


DRAWING  FROM  ANIMALS 


55 


WHEN 

ANIMALS 

CHANGE 

POSITION 


MEMORY 

SNAP 

SHOTS 


the  work  is  very  crude,  the  children  have  grasped  the 
distinguishing  features  of  each  rooster  and  have  shown 
them  in  their  paintings.  They  were  encouraged  to 
dip  the  colors  directly  from  the  cakes  of  paint  and 
to  put  them  on  the  paper  with  no  mixing  in  the  box. 
Those  that  look  flat  and  dull  in  color  were  prob- 
ably done  by  mixing  a wash  in  the  box  cover. 

There  should  be  no  attempt  to  make  large,  fin- 
ished drawings  of  the  animals.  The  animal  moves  so 
often  that  such  a thing  would  be  quite  impossible. 
The  children  should  start  anew  each  time  the  animal 
changes  his  position,  and  the  sheet  at  the  end  of  the 
lesson  should  show  a number  of  small  incompleted 
sketches  rather  than  a finished  one  of  large  size. 
Frequently,  there  will  be  only  the  beginnings  of  many 
sketches  when  the  lesson  is  over.  Notice  in  the  mar- 
ginal sketches  which  are  reproduced  from  children’s 
drawings,  how  they  have  worked  in  this  way. 

An  occasional  lesson  may  be  given  by  first  select- 
ing some  animal  which  is  easy  to  draw,  like  the 
rabbit.  Place  him  on  the  desk,  and  after  the  chil- 
dren have  looked  at  him  for  a few  moments  (if  he 
remains  in  one  position  for  that  length  of  time)  remove 
him  from  sight  and  let  the  children  draw  from  mem- 
ory what  they  saw.  Then  place  him  on  the  desk  in 
some  other  position  and  let  them  try  again.  This  is 
always  interesting  and  may  be  made  a fine  exercise 
in  quick  observation.  Do  not  expect  too  much,  for 
the  children  often  do  the  most  unexpected  things.  An 
Ohio  teacher  related  that  in  giving  a lesson  from  the 


56 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


rabbit  in  her  room,  she  called  attention  to  its  long 
ears,  its  little  stubby  tail,  etc.,  and  then  set  the  chil- 
dren to  work.  One  little  fellow  produced  this  result 
(Fig.  28)  and  explained  to  the  astonished  teacher  that  it 
was  bunny’s  two  ears,  two  eyes,  month,  body,  and  tail. 

Teachers  often  ask  if  they  cannot  have  pupils 
sketch  from  a stuffed  bird  which  is  sure  to  “stay 
put,”  as  one  little  fellow  expressed  it,  instead  of  from 
live  specimens,  which  cannot  be  counted  upon  to  pose 
quietly.  There  seem  to  be  two  reasons  why  this 
would  be  inadvisable.  First,  such  a plan  would  destroy 
the  chief  value  of  animal  drawing,  namely,  the  quick, 
spontaneous  effort  of  the  children  to  take  in  all  they 
can  at  a glance  and  to  work  rapidly  and  with  con- 
centration— to  get  all  they  can  before  the  model 
changes  its  position.  In  the  second  place,  the  interest 
and  delight  with  which  the  children  study  the  rooster 
or  parrot,  and  try  to  show  how  he  looks  in  this  posi- 
tion or  that,  does  not  extend  to  the  poor  dead  bird, 
standing  motionless  on  his  perch.  “Is  he  awfully 
dead  ?”  asked  one  little  child  in  an  awed  whisper 
when  a stuffed  robin  was  put  before  him  to  draw. 

Sketching  toy  animals  comes  more  under  the  head 
of  object  drawing  than  animal  drawing,  but  a few 
words  regarding  it  may  not  be  amiss  in  this  place. 
A rocking  horse  or  a Teddy  Bear  are  splendid  objects 
to  draw,  and  there  are  other  toy  animals  which  are 
made  so  well  that  the  children  actually  get  a good 
idea  of  proportion  from  drawing  them.  The  jointed 
elephant  which  is  a part  of  the  “Humpty  Dumpty 


DRAWING 

FROM 

STUFFED 

BIRDS 


DRAWING 

TOY 

ANIMALS 


28 


DRAWING  FROM  ANIMALS 


57 


COLLECT- 

ING 

PICTURES 


Circus,”  and  which  is  so  constructed  that  trunk,  legs, 
head,  and  even  ears  are  movable  and  adjustable,  and 
which  may  be  made  to  stand  in  any  number  of  most 
natural  positions,  is  a model  which  is  most  delightful 
to  the  children.  The  author  believes  that  were  she 
teaching  in  a Primary  Grade,  she  would  possess  her- 
self of  this  toy  as  a part  of  her  equipment. 

The  study  of  pictures  is  a great  aid  in  familiar- 
izing children  with  various  animal  forms,  and  teachers 
will  find  that  a collection  of  pictures  is  invaluable. 

Encourage  the  children  to  bring  pictures  of  animals 
to  school.  They  will  take  delight  in  doing  this,  and 
you  will  be  surprised  to  see  how  many  pictures  are 
brought  in  response  to  your  request.  The  newspapers, 
magazines,  old  picture  books,  and  souvenir  postal 
stands  will  furnish  their  quota.  In  one  room  we  know, 
over  one  hundred  and  fifty  pictures  of  dogs  were 
brought  by  the  children,  and  from  these  the  teacher 
selected  a hundred  that  were  good  enough  to  mount 
on  manila  paper.  To  these  she  added  a few  especially 
fine  ones  which  she  cut  from  her  own  magazines  or 
begged  from  her  friends,  and  altogether  the  collection 
when  completed  and  mounted  in  a book  was  the 
most  delightful  one  of  dog  pictures  we  have  ever  seen. 
In  this  book  his  canine  majesty  is  depicted  under 
every  possible  emotion  from  deep  grief  to  violent  joy, 
and  in  almost  every  position. 

From  this  collection  of  pictures  the  children  learned 
the  characteristics  of  various  dogs,  so  that  they  were 
able  to  tell  very  readily  the  difference  between  a collie 


30 


32 


58 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


and  a bull-dog,  a greyhound  and  a terrier,  a spaniel 
and  a beagle,  etc.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
during  the  animal  drawing  which  followed  this  picture 
study  and  in  which  live  dogs  served  as  models,  the 
children  evinced  unusual  interest  with  a high  average 
of  results. 

Another  teacher  made  a collection  of  animal  pic- 
tures, and,  after  mounting  them  on  cardboard,  cut 
each  picture  into  six  pieces.  Occasionally,  on  a Friday 
afternoon,  the  children  played  the  following  game  in- 
stead of  doing  the  regular  drawing  work.  The  small 
pieces  were  mixed  up  and  each  child  was  given  a 
certain  number  of  pieces  which  he  laid  on  his  desk, 
sorting  to  see  what  he  had.  The  teacher  next 
asked  every  child  who  had  a part  of  a horse  picture 
to  stand.  These  children  then  brought  the  sections  to 
the  table  or  to  an  empty  seat  and  arranged  them  so 
as  to  form  the  complete  picture.  In  like  manner, 
various  groups  of  children  arranged  the  other  animals. 
To  them  it  was  a game,  but  in  reality  they  were 
learning  much  which  would  be  put  to  practical  use 
in  their  drawing  later. 

In  choosing  pictures  for  the  walls  of  a Primary 
room,  select  one  really  fine  animal  picture,  if  possible. 
One  reproduction  of  a Landseer  or  a Bonheur,  a Van 
Marcke,  or  a Troy  on  is  worth  more  than  many  pic- 
tures of  less  merit. 


AN 

ANIMAL 

GAME 


WALL 

PICTURES 


PROVID- 

ING 

OBJECTS 


V.  DRAWING  FROM  THINGS 

No  kind  of  drawing  has  undergone  a greater  change 
in  the  method  of  teaching  it  than  this.  The  days  when 
young  children  were  given  wooden  blocks  (the  simple 
geometric  solids)  to  draw,  after  touching  and  counting 
their  edges,  corners,  faces,  and  surfaces,  have  happily 
passed  away.  Drawing  from  objects  has  now  been 
made  most  interesting  by  letting  the  children  draw 
things  which  play  a part  in  their  environment  and 
their  activities  instead  of  those  early  geometric  abstrac- 
tions which  , could  make  no  intrinsic  appeal  to  the 
childish  mind.  A Drawing  Course  in  which  drawing 
from  objects  received  little  attention  would  be  like  a 
building  with  a weak  framework,  and  this  weakness 
and  instability  would  be  detected  not  alone  in  lack 
of  power  to  draw  things  as  they  appear,  but  in  story 
drawing,  in  the  color  work  and  in  all  other  kinds 
of  drawing  as  well  as  in  the  making. 

Several  things  must  be  considered  when  preparing 
for  and  giving  a lesson  in  object  drawing,  not  the 
least  important  of  which  is  to  provide  a suitable  object 
or  suitable  objects.  It  was  a wise  woman  who,  when 
asked  for  her  recipe  for  cooking  a hare,  said  “First 
catch  your  hare.”  The  discriminating  selection  of  an 
object  or  objects  should  just  as  surely  precede  a lesson 
in  object  drawing.  Many  schoolrooms  are  completely 

barren  of  anything  suitable  for  this  kind  of  lesson. 

59 


60 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


There  is,  to  be  sure,  the  much  used  waste  basket. 
But  it  is  not  a very  interesting  thing  at  the  outset 
and  when  it  has  been  drawn  as  often  as  the  teacher 
finds  “object  drawing”  designated  on  her  program,  it 
loses  any  charm  it  may  once  have  possessed.  Besides, 
the  children  usually  work  with  more  interest  when 
something  is  put  before  them  with  which  they  are 
not  so  familiar  and  which  is  more  in  the  nature  of 
a surprise  to  them.  They  have  seen  the  waste  basket 
day  after  day  and  consequently  do  not  use  their  eyes 
when  asked  to  draw  a picture  of  it,  but  draw  more 
from  imagination  than  from  observation.  It  is  not 
difficult  to  plan  ahead  for  an  object,  the  teacher  bring- 
ing it  into  the  schoolroom  or  having  some  pupil  do 
so.  Some  schools  include  in  their  collection  of  “still 
life”  not  only  the  beautiful  and  inexpensive  pottery 
now  so  available  and  used  chiefly  in  the  upper  grades, 
but  crocks,  kitchen  and  garden  utensils,  and  a few 
large  toys,  such  as  a cart,  a wheelbarrow,  etc.,  to  be  used 
in  connection  with  pose  work  or  object  drawing.  In  many 
places  the  teachers  ask  the  children  to  bring  to  school 
old  leaky  teapots,  coffee  pots,  kettles,  watering  cans,  etc. 
These  are  kept  in  some  closet  or  corner  of  the  base- 
ment, and  prove  a never-failing  source  of  supply  for 
every  grade  when  object  drawing  is  on  the  program. 

Not  only  should  one  provide  an  object  for  the 
lesson,  but  it  should  be  a suitable  one.  A child  will 
draw  things'  which  interest  him  with  much  more  ob- 
servation and  spontaneity  than  things  which  do  not. 
A wooden  sphere  is  doubtless  the  easiest  thing  which 


CHOOSING 

SUITABLE 

OBJECTS 


DRAWING  FROM  THINGS 


61 


DEVELOP- 

ING 

QUICK 

OBSERVA- 

TION 


could  be  placed  before  him,  blit  it  is  cold  and  mean- 
ingless. He  will  draw  circle  after  circle  to  represent 
it,  but  mechanically  and  without  interest.  If  you  give 
him  the  sphere  in  the  form  of  his  big  brother's  base 
ball,  putting  the  bat  with  it,  the  story  is  a different  one. 
You  may  possibly  choose  to  have  him  make  a large 
drawing  on  one  side  of  the  paper  (Fig.  1),  and  on  the 
other  side  several  smaller  ones  for  practice  in  quick 
observation. 

The  children  may  divide  the  sheet  for  the  smaller 
drawings  into  four  equal  spaces  by  lines,  and  in  the 
four  spaces  thus  formed  they  may  make  one-minute 
sketches  to  show  how  the  ball  and  the  bat  look  when 
placed  in  different  positions  (Fig.  2). 

While  drawing  the  ball  and  bat  how  the  children 
would  enjoy  having  a base-ball  pose.  The  results 
might  be  damaging  if  the  action  were  carried  too  far, 
but  one  is  sure  the  lesson  would  not  be  without  in- 
terest and  delight  for  the  children  (Fig.  3). 

Cut  a sheet  of  paper  into  any  odd  form  (Figs. 
4,  5,  6).  Hold  it  before  the  children  for  a minute, 
slowly  passing  your  fingers  over  the  margin  to  call 
attention  to  direction,  slant,  etc.  Put  it  behind  you 
and  let  the  children  draw  or  cut  the  shape  as  they 
remember  it.  Instance  after  instance  could  be  given 
showing  how  this  kind  of  work  has  developed  the 
observation  of  children.  It  not  only  trains  them 
to  observe  quickly  but  they  are  stimulated  to  accuracy 
by  the  rivalry  which  the  exercise  arouses  and  the 
desire  of  each  to  excel  the  others. 


3 


62 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


Just  as  the  drawing  of  the  baseball  will  prove 
much  more  interesting;  than  the  drawing  of  the  geomet- 
rical  sphere,  so  will  there  be  more  inherent  interest 
in  the  drawing  of  a berry  box  or  a milk  can  than 
in  the  drawing  of  a cube  or  cylinder.  Children’s  toys 
are  line  for  object  drawing — Noah’s  ark,  Teddy  Bear, 
sled,  wheelbarrow,  cart,  fire  engine  toys  (Fig.  7) — 
indeed  any  of  the  hundreds  of  toys  which  interest 
them  so  much.  If  the  locality  is  such  that  toys  are 
scarce,  there  are  always  tools  at  hand,  such  as  hammer, 
ax,  saw,  etc. ; garden  implements,  such  as  watering 
can,  spade,  rake,  shovel,  and  hoe,  and  kitchen  utensils, 
including  teakettle,  rolling-pin,  pail,  dipper,  etc. 
Potted  plants  are  also  excellent  for  this  work.  Peach, 
market,  and  clothes  baskets  are  good  subjects.  We 
once  saw  a fine  lesson  given  in  a school  located  in 
one  of  the  poorer  districts  of  a large  city,  with  the 
clothes  basket  for  a subject.  Two  of  the  children 
had  been  asked  to  go  to  their  home  near  by  and 
bring  a clothes  basket.  The  teacher  had  seen  the 
basket  in  a neighboring  yard  and  had  asked  the 
mother  if  she  would  loan  it.  The  children  came  back 
with  the  basket  and  their  baby  brother  asleep  in  it, 
for  it  served  as  his  cradle.  While  the  lesson  was  in 
progress  the  baby  awoke  and  popped  his  head  and 
arms  above  the  basket  and  the  children  added  him 
to  their  pictures.  It  goes  without  saying  the  result 
was  most  interesting. 

Although  it  is  now  a rare  thing  to  require  little 
children  to  draw  the  wooden  type  models,  these  blocks 


INTEREST- 

ING 

OBJECTS 


DRAWING 

FROM 

BLOCK 

BUILDING 


7 


DRAWING  FROM  THINGS 


63 


may  be  used  to  splendid  advantage  in  block  building 
from  which  pupils  may  draw.  The  suggestions  offered 
in  the  marginal  sketches  may  prove  helpful.  The 
playing  blocks  belonging  to  the  children  may  be 
brought  to  school  if  there  are  no  blocks  furnished  for 
the  school,  and  many  interesting  lessons  in  building 
and  drawing  may  be  evolved  therefrom. 
placing  If  the  object  is  large,  like  a watering  can  or  large 
objects  may  be  seen  easily  by  all  the  children,  the 

former  by  being  placed  on  a chair,  which  in  turn  is 
placed  on  the  teacher’s  desk;  the  latter  by  being 
pinned  to  the  wall  in  the  front  of  the  room.  If,  how- 
ever, the  objects  are  small,  several  should  be  pro- 
vided so  that  each  child  may  plainly  see  the  thing 
he  is  trying'  to  draw.  We  once  visited  a room  where 
fifty  primary  children  were  trying  to  draw  one  little 
china  cup  which  stood  on  the  teacher’s  desk.  It  was 
scarcely  better  than  no  lesson.  There  should  have 
been  “desk  boards”  placed  across  the  aisles  resting 
on  the  desks  and  at  least  seven  cups  placed  as  shown 
by  the  crosses  in  the -diagram  on  Page  135.  Tor  this 
purpose  any  ordinary  board  will  answer.  Boards  upon 
which  dress  goods  are  wound  are  often  available  at 
the  dry  goods  stores.  These  are  light  and  easy  to 
handle,  and  a set  of  them  on  each  floor  of  a building 
will  be  sufficient.  Many  teachers  prefer  to  have  their 
own  desk  boards  to  avoid  confusion.  The  teacher 
who  thinks  this  causes  too  much  trouble  and  takes 
too  much  time  should  remember  how  much  more 
time  and  trouble  are  involved  in  placing  chairs,  tables, 





H 


64 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


boxes,  etc.,  in  the  aisles  on  which  to  place  the  objects 
to  be  drawn.  A little  trouble  at  the  outset  is  worth 
while,  as  the  desk  boards  remain  as  a permanent 
convenience  for  this  work.  Let  one  boy  be  responsi- 
ble for  placing  the  boards  across  the  aisles  properly 
and  returning  them  to  their  place  after  the  lesson. 

An  object  may  be  seen  much  more  easily  against 
a plain  background.  For  instance,  if  the  children  are 
to  draw  a coffeepot,  throw  your  white  apron  over 
the  back  of  the  chair  which  has  been  placed  on  the 
desk  to  hold  the  object,  and  let  this  white  surface 
serve  as  a background  against  which  the  form  of  the 
object  may  be  seen  plainly.  For  the  smaller  objects 
such  backgrounds  may  be  used  as  are  suggested  on 
Page  26  in  the  Chapter  Drawing  from  Nature. 

Put  the  same  animation  and  sparkle  into  the 
lessons  which  make  the  language  lessons  so  delightful 
when  conducted  by  a good  teacher.  In  doing  this 
each  teacher  must  devise  her  own  methods  of  pre- 
sentation and  put  her  own  personality  into  the  work. 
Personifying  objects  often  appeals  to  the  children. 
Perhaps  you  have  arranged  a pail  and  a dipper 
(Fig.  14).  Talk  about  the  large  Mrs.  Pail  and  the 
little  Miss  Dipper.  Have  the  children  note  their 
positions  and  let  them  show  by  gestures  how  Mrs. 
Pail  holds  her  hands  clasped  above  her  head,  and 
how  Miss  Dipper  holds  her  arm  out  as  though  she 
were  pointing,  etc.  (Figs.  15  and  16). 

Objects  may  be  turned  and  drawn  as  they  appear 
in  each  position  (Figs.  17,  18,  19).  This  may  be 


OBJECT 

AND 

BACK- 

GROUND 


PRESENT- 
ING THE 
LESSONS 


CHANGING 

POSITION 

OF 

OBJECTS 


16 


DRAWING  FROM  THINGS 


65 


WHAT 
TO  WORK 
FOR 


done  in  one  lesson,  or,  if  the  object  is  difficult,  the 
work  may  cover  several  lessons.  For  instance,  the 
watering  can  looks  very  different  according  as  we  see 
the  front,  side  or  back.  Remember  also  that  each 
child  in  the  room  sees  the  object  from  a different 
position  and  therefore  does  not  see  exactly  the  same 
thing,  although  he  is  looking  at  the  same  object.  Try 
to  have  him  show  what  he  sees.  If  he  does  not  see 
the  spout,  he  should  not  draw  it.  Do  not  draw  a 
picture  of  the  object  on  the  chalkboard.  This  is 
deadly  to  the  development  of  power  in  the  children. 

You  cannot  expect  great  results  from  small  chil- 
dren, but  if  you  work  in  the  right  way  and  toward 
the  right  end,  you  may  be  sure  you  are  laying  the 
right  foundation  for  greater  results  later.  The  main 
object  of  this  work  is  to  quicken  the  child’s  observa- 
tion and  to  help  him  express  truthfully  what  he  sees 
in  so  far  as  he  is  able.  If  you  wish  him  to  express 
the  big  facts  of  proportion,  action,  etc.,  how  do  you 
set  to  work  ? 

Let  us  suppose  that  you  have  chosen  for  the  lesson 
an  umbrella.  You  choose  this  because  the  day  is 
rainy,  and  the  umbrella  may  be  easily  seen.  You 
have  placed  the  umbrella  on  your  desk  against  a 
white  background.  Paper  and  pencils  are  distributed 
and  all  is  ready.  You  first  ask  the  children  to  turn 
their  papers  in  such  a way  as  to  make  the  drawing- 
fit  the  space.  This  is  better  than  to  show  them  how 
to  turn  the  paper.  You  ask  them  to  show  you  (by  a 
gesture)  how  the  umbrella  is  standing — whether  it 


66 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


stands  “straight  up"  or  slants,  and  if  the  latter,  which 
way.  Then  let  them  draw  one  line  on  their  paper 
to  show  how  the  umbrella  stands.  Let  it  be  a “secret” 
line,  that  is,  drawn  so  lightly  that  no  one  can  see  it  easily 
but  themselves.  Pass  around  quickly  and  see  if  they 
have  the  idea.  Many  will  be  found  right,  but  some 
will  be  found  too  short.  Tell  the  children  you  want 
long  umbrellas,  not  stingy  ones.  You  have  now  cov- 
ered the  first  stage  (Fig.  20,  A).  Have  the  children 
study  the  umbrella  again  and  find  out  how  much  of 
it  is  handle,  liow  much  cloth  and  how  much  tip.  Let 
them  make  marks  to  show  the  divisions  (Fig.  20,  B). 
Call  their  attention  to  the  way  the  cloth  part  looks, 
the  way  the  ends  of  the  ribs  group  themselves  closely 
around  the  handle,  etc.  Let  them  draw.  You  were 
looking  for  something  like  C or  1).  What  you  found 
were  drawings  more  like  E and  F.  But  do  not 
become  discouraged.  You  have  probably  given  a 
good  lesson  judged  by  child  measure.  Teach  as  well 
the  next  time,  and  the  next,  and  the  results  will  take 
care  of  themselves. 

Among  young  children  there  seems  to  be  an  almost 
universal  tendency  to  draw  too  small,  and  this  ten- 
ency  must  be  overcome  before  there  can  be  any  real 
freedom  in  the  work.  The  teacher  can  easily  show 
her  preference  for  large  drawings  by  judicious  praise 
of  such  efforts,  and  by  referring  to  the  small  and 
cramped  ones  as  “stingy  drawings"  or  in  some  other 
equally  expressive  terms.  One  teacher,  in  whose 
room  the  work  showed  exceptional  freedom  and  bold- 


SIZE  OF 
DRAW- 
INGS 


DRAWING  FROM  THINGS 


67 


TECH- 

NIQUE 


ness,  explained  her  way  of  obtaining  these  results  as 
follows:  She  said  they  always  used  9x12  manila  paper 
when  drawing  with  charcoal,  and  6x9  when  drawing 
with  pencil  and  for  water  color  work,  urging  the 
children  to  draw  large  by  every  argument  which 
occurred  to  her.  She  placed  great  stress  on  drawing 
first  a few  suggestive  lines  (“blocking  in”),  claiming 
if  the  first  lines  and  shapes  are  cramped  and  dwarfed, 
the  finished  drawing  will  be  so.  When,  however,  a 
child  persistently  made  tiny  drawings,  she  said  she 
resorted  to  the  expedient  of  giving  him  a very  small 
sheet  of  paper,  telling  him  it  was  wasteful  to  give 
him  a large  sheet  since  he  never  used  but  a small 
part  of  it.  lie  was  assured  that  just  as  soon  as  he 
wanted  to  draw  larger,  he  could  have  a larger  sheet. 
She  increased  the  size  of  the  sheet  gradually  as  he 
learned  to  draw  larger. 

Another  teacher  accomplished  the  same  end  by 
hanging  up  an  old  sample  of  wall  paper,  as  mentioned 
in  another  chapter,  letting  some  pupil  who  had  made 
an  especially  large  and  good  drawing  of  some  object, 
take  a piece  of  soft  charcoal  and  make  a large  draw- 
ing on  the  back  of  the  wall  paper  which  was  kept 
on  exhibition  for  a day  or  two. 

In  the  old  days  when  school  drawing  was  in  its 
infancy,  great  stress  was  laid  upon  the  manner  in 
which  the  child  should  hold  his  pencil  in  order  to 
get  the  “broad  gray  line”  which  seemed  to  be  the 
end  of  all  drawing  work.  The  children  were  given 
many  drill  exercises  in  pencil  holding,  according  to 


68 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


fixed  directions,  and  the  luckless  child,  who  grasped 
his  pencil  too  near  the  point,  received  extra  drill  in 
order  that  the  uniform  rule  might  be  enforced  with 
every  pupil.  We  now  show  the  pupil  how  to  hold 
the  pencil  in  the  way  that  gives  the  most  freedom, 
recognizing  that  the  thing  we  are  striving  to  develop 
is  not  power  to  hold  the  pencil  at  a given  angle  or 
in  a hard  and  fixed  position,  but  first  power  to  see 
and  then  to  express  with  their  pencils  what  they  see. 

The  child  who  holds  his  pencil  in  a cramped,  tense 
grip  so  as  to  make  freedom  of  drawing  impossible 
should  of  course  be  shown  the  better  way  of  holding 
it.  But  to  go  to  the  pupil,  who  with  intense  interest 
is  trying  to  make  the  spout  of  his  teapot  look  just 
as  he  sees  it,  and  interrupt  his  eager  effort  by  asking 
him  how  he  is  holding  his  pencil,  would  be  like  inter- 
rupting the  happy  song  of  a child  by  asking  him 
about  the  position  o°f  his  larynx. 

There  comes  a time  when  technique  is  given  its 
necessary  place — and  a very  important  place  in  the 
drawing  work,  but  that  time  may  wisely  be  postponed 
until  the  child  is  well  along;  in  the  grades. 

Almost  the  first  thing  which  the  child  learns  in  marking 
school  is  how  to  write  his  name,  and  he  should  mark  DRAW_ 
every  drawing  he  makes,  even  when  his  writing  is  INGS 
uncertain  and  almost  illegible.  As  soon  as  possible  he 
should  learn  to  add  the  date  to  his  signature. 
Throughout  the  entire  school  course,  every  drawing 
should  bear  the  child's  name  and  date  of  lesson.  There 
should  be  a uniform  place  for  these  on  the  sheet  for 


Plate  O 


DRAWING  FROM  THINGS 


69 


ERASERS 


OBJECTS 

IN 

COLOR 


convenience  in  looking  over  the  work  and  because  it 
identifies  the  work  and  contributes  to  its  appearance 
in  case  of  exhibition.  Some  Supervisors  ask  to  have 
all  drawings  signed  on  the  back,  while  others  prefer 
to  have  the  name  placed  in  the  lower  left  hand  corner 
of  the  drawing  side,  and  the  date  in  the  lower  right 
hand  corner.  Again,  the  signing  of  the  pupil’s  name 
to  a drawing  gives  him  a certain  feeling  of  responsi- 
bility, and  is  an  added  incentive  to  best  effort,  for 
even  primary  children  soon  learn  that  if  the  work  is 
unsigned,  neither  carelessness  nor  excellence  can  be 
traced  to  the  individual  who  is  responsible  for  them. 

Erasers  should  not  be  used  by  pupils  in  the  pri- 
mary grades.  Their  use  would  encourage  carelessness 
and  lead  to  untidy  results.  If  available  at  any  time, 
the  freedom  and  spontaneity  of  the  work  would  be 
impaired.  The  children  should  use  very  light  lines 
(“secret  lines”  as  we  have  termed  them  elsewhere  in 
this  Chapter)  for  blocking  in  the  drawings,  covering 
these  up  with  heavier  lines  or  with  the  mass  work 
in  the  finished  drawing. 

In  addition  to  the  flowers,  fruit  and  vegetables 
which  furnish  such  fine  color  lessons,  let  the  children 
try  occasionally  to  render  other  objects  in  color.  If  a 
bit  of  pottery  is  chosen,  work  only  for  the  local  color 
and  the  form.  For  instance,  a green  vase  in  which 
you  might  see  high  lights  and  graduation  of  light  and 
shade  (Plate  O,  Fig.  1)  would  simply  be  green  to  the 
child  (Plate  O,  Fig.  2),  and  it  would  be  wrong  to 
attempt  to  force  him  to  see  anything  else  at  this  stage. 


25 


70 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


lie  lias  many  years  before  him.  If  water  color  is 
the  medium,  do  not  let  the  pupil  outline  with  pencil, 

but  let  him  “wash  in”  the  shape  first  with  water, 

and  then  paint  his  green  wash  over  the  moist  surface. 
Chinese  lanterns  are  fine  for  any  grade.  In  the  first 

grade  there  will  be  little  or  no  perspective,  but  let 

the  child  work  to  tell  as  much  of  the  truth  as  he  can 
about  the  form  and  color  of  the  lanterns.  Do  not 
let  the  children  paint  simply  fancy  “make  believe” 
lanterns  (Plate  O,  Fig.  3).  Hang  up  a real  lantern 
and  encourage  them  to  tell  as  much  as  possible  with 
their  brushes  about  its  true  shape  and  color. 

Avoid  the  hard  lines  and  edges  (Plate  O,  Fig.  4) 
by  having  the  children  first  paint  the  form  of  the 
lantern  in  clear  water,  washing  in  the  color  on  this 
moist  surface  (Plate  O,  Fig.  5).  Show  how  the  colors 
may  be  made  to  blend  by  this  method.  Do  not 
expect  to  make  artists  of  all  the  children  any  more 
than  you  expect  to  make  bookkeepers  and  expert 
accountants  of  all  the  children  who  study  arithmetic. 

Note.  — Figures  21  to  25  inclusive  of  this  chapter  are  reproductions  of 
pencil  drawings  done  by  primary  children. 


VI.  PAINTING  AND  COLOR 


Those  who  have  studied  the  effect  of  color  upon 
children  say  that  working  with  bright  colors  under 
careful  and  wise  direction  contributes  to  the  develop- 
ment of  child  character.  To  paint  the  school  room 
walls  a bright  red,  however,  they  say  would  be  a 
harmful  thing  to  do,  for,  although  stimulating  to 
mentality  when  used  moderately,  when  used  in  large 
masses,  it  tends  to  over-excite  the  mind,  causing 
nervousness  and  lack  of  self-control.  On  the  other 
hand,  exercises  involving  the  discriminating  and 
moderate  use  of  bright  colors  may  be  made  to  serve  a 
good  purpose  in  developing  the  color  sense. 

Children  love  color  before  they  go  to  school.  They 

sense  it  and  crave  it  almost  from  birth.  They  may 

be  taught  how  to  make  it  and  use  it  at  school,  but 

the  love  for  it  seems  to  be  inborn.  Apparently,  the 

more  barren  and  colorless  the  environment  of  a race 

or  an  individual,  the  more  passionate  will  be  their 

craving  for  color.  The  Indians  of  the  Western  plains 

paint  into  their  gaudy  designs  all  the  hues  which 

nature  has  denied  them  in  the  somber  alkali  desert 

which  serves  as  their  stage  setting.  The  woman  of 

the  dingy  Ghetto  obeys  the  same  instinct,  when  she 

ties  around  her  neck  the  glaring  kerchief  and  decks 

herself  with  the  bright  multi-colored  beads  or  artificial 

stones  which  appeal  to  her  love  of  color.  To  take 

71 


72 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


this  inherent  love  of  color  and  direct  it  to  an  appre- 
ciation of  harmonious  and  truly  beautiful  color  is  one 
of  the  provinces  of  the  school,  and  it  may  be  the 
happy  privilege  of  the  primary  teacher  to  open 
the  door  through  which  the  child  may  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  beauty.  Children  are  veritable  barbarians 
in  the  absence  of  a discriminating  taste,  and  when 
they  enter  school  the  most  glaring  colors  and  the  most 
antagonistic  combinations  appeal  to  them  more  strongly 
than  the  less  intense  colors  in  harmonious  relation. 
The  earlier  color  exercises  should  aim  to  gratify  the 
child's  craving  for  strong  color  while  leading  him  to 
finer  discriminations  in  color  relations  and  harmony. 
The  full  development  of  these  finer  discriminations 
will  be  the  work  of  years,  and  we  should  no  more 
expect  the  primary  child  to  surrender  his  love  of  strong 
color  for  a love  of  the  more  subtle  and  subdued  tones 
than  we  should  expect  him  to  turn  with  joy  from  his 
Fairy  Tales  or  Mother  Goose  rhymes  to  Shakespeare’s 
plays  or  Browning’s  poems. 

The  flowers  and  objects  which  are  chosen  for  early 
painting  should  be  rich,  intense,  and  brilliant  in  color, 
because  the  painting  of  these  objects  satisfies  the  child’s 
desire  for  bright  colors,  and  because  he  is  incapable 
of  producing  the  more  subtle  tones.  This  subject  is 
treated  in  the  Chapter  on  Drawing  from  Nature  under 
Flower  Painting.  Besides  lessons  in  which  the  aim  is 
to  see  and  repres?nt  form  and  color  correctly,  there  are 
many  delightful  exercises  with  color  sense  training  for 
their  chief  motive.  Some  of  these  exercises  are  given 


PAINTING  AND  COLOR 


73 


PAINTING 

COLOR 

WASHES 


in  the  following  pages,  and  it  is  hoped  they  may  sug- 
gest many  others  which  will  be  equally  helpful. 

Let  the  children  paint  flat  washes  showing  tints 
of  the  primary  colors,  red,  yellow,  and  blue.  Let 
them  paint  panels  without  first  draw  ing  enclosing  lines 
with  pencil.  In  painting  a “flat  wash,”  the  child 
should  first  moisten  the  entire  surface  of  each  cake 
of  paint  by  filling  the  brush  with  water,  and  drawing 
it  across  each  one  in  succession.  Then  into  one  of 
the  compartments  of  his  paint  box  let  him  dip  enough 
water  for  the  wash — say  about  a teaspoonful,  for  an 
oblong  of  ordinary  size.  After  this,  let  him  color 
this  water  the  desired  tint,  and  beginning  from  the 
top  paint  downward  from  left  to  right,  always  working 
with  his  brush  full  of  the  tint.  The  papers  should 
be  six  by  nine  inches  in  size,  and  when  finished  will 
lie  like  Figures  1,  2,  and  3.  In  the  same  way  washes 
of  the  secondary  colors  may  be  made  (Figs.  4,  5,  and 
6)  by  mixing  red  and  yellow^  for  orange,  blue  and 
yellow^  for  green,  and  blue  and  red  for  violet.  These 
panels  should  be  saved  and  utilized  as  backgrounds 
for  brush  and  ink  work. 

The  child  wdio  painted  the  spray,  Plate  J,  Fig.  2, 
used  a tinted  background  which  w as  done  at  the  time 
of  the  flat  wash  lessons  just  mentioned. 

In  schools  where  the  tinted  papers  are  not  available 
for  use  by  the  children,  these  color  washes  may  be 
saved  and  used  in  making  strips  for  weaving  or  in 
connection  wdtli  the  lessons  in  Paper  Cutting,  or  in  the 
making  of  little  booklets  for  Number  Lessons,  etc. 


(!  :>  i 


74 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


An  exercise  which  affords  opportunity  both  for 
color  mixing  and  the  study  of  color  relation  is  based 
on  the  following  rhyme: 

Tom  Tinkum  had  six  toy  balloons. 

And  all  of  these  were  white; 

He  took  1 lis  paints  and  took  his  brush 
And  worked  with  all  his  might. 

“The  first  one  of  the  row,”  Tom  said, 

“I'll  paint  my  very  brightest  red, 

And  then  Til  mix  my  red  with  yellow 
For  orange,”  said  the  little  fellow. 

“And  now  I’ll  paint  a pretty  one 
All  round  and  yellow  like  the  sun. 

By  mixing  yellow  with  my  blue 
I’ll  get  a lovely  bright  green  hue. 

Of  blue  my  next  balloon  shall  be, 

The  color  of  the  sky,  you  see. 

And  now  my  red  and  blue  I'll  mix 
To  make  a violet — number  six.” 


Have  the  children  draw  the  pose  from  a child, 
afterward  adding  the  balloons  (Fig.  7).  Here  is 
another  rhyme  which  may  be  recited  to  the  children 
in  giving  such  a lesson: 

“The  man  who  toots  the  big  tin  horn  and  has  the 
toy  balloons  to  sell, 

I’m  sure  would  have  a lot  of  interesting  things  to  tell. 
He  must  know  the  secret  forests  where  the  toy  balloons 
all  grow, 

And  I think  that  when  they  get  away,  he  knows  just 
where  they  go. 

I wonder  if  they  wander  round  until  they  get  back 
home  ? 

Or  if  the  man  up  in  the  moon  doesn’t  sometimes  cap- 
ture some  ? 


OTHER 

SUGGEST- 

IVE 

WASH 

EXERCISES 


7 


PAINTING  AND  COLOR 


75 


SEAT 

WORK 


It  may  be  all  the  toy  balloons  that  bounce  and  bump 
away 

Meet  somewhere  up  above  the  clouds  like  little  folks 
at  play. 

And  never  stop  their  romping  game  away  up  there  so 
high, 

Till  captured  by  the  witch  who  sweeps  the  cobwebs 
from  the  sky. 

The  man  who  sells  the  toy  balloons  might  tell  me 
how  it  is, 

But  he  only  passes  down  the  street  and  toots  that 
horn  of  his.” 

The  following  exercise  is  excellent  for  seat  work. 
Each  child  cuts  an  oval  tablet.  He  traces  around 
this  six  times  with  his  pencil  and  then  colors  to  rep- 
resent the  three  primary  and  three  secondary  colors. 
After  this*  he  cuts  out  these  ovals.  His  basket  is  cut 
free-hand  (See  Page  10.5),  and  the  ovals  and  basket 
are  mounted  on  tinted  papers. 


8 


EASTER  EGGS 

Ilumpty  Dumpty  has  country  cousins, 

Who  come  to  the  city  in  spring  by  the  dozens; 

They  make  such  a brilliant  show  in  town 
You'd  think  that  a rainbow  had  tumbled  down — 
Blue  and  yellow  and  red  and  green, 

The  gayest  gowns  that  ever  were  seen; 

Purple  and  orange  and  oh!  such  style, 

They  are  all  the  rage  for  a little  while; 

But  their  visit  is  short,  for  no  one  stays 
After  the  Easter  holidays. 

— Woman’s  Home  Companion. 

Children  take  great  delight  in  working  out  the  fol- 
lowing exercise.  The  page  (Fig.  9),  when  completed, 


!) 


76 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


contains  the  rhyme  and  colored  squares  as  well  as 
crude  little  illustrations  to  represent  leaf,  sun,  orange, 
apple,  violet,  and  sky.  The  paper  must  be  nine  by 
twelve  inches  in  size  to  allow  for  the  exercise. 

The  green  leaf  is  a pretty  fellow, 

And  jolly  is  the  sun  so  yellow; 

The  orange  is  a golden  ball, 

And  red  the  apple  in  the  Fall; 

The  violet  has  a purple  hue. 

And  over  all,  the  sky  is  blue. 

A most  delightful  lesson  in  color  may  be  given  by  rainbow 
using  a set  of  “ rainbow  dolls.”  There  should  be  twelve  DOLLS 
dolls  dressed  in  the  six  leading  and  six  intermediate 
spectrum  colors  (Figs.  10  and  11).  The  children  may 
play  many  games  with  them — games  which  are  in  reality 
the  best  of  lessons,  and  the  boys  usually  enjoy  them 
as  thoroughly  as  do  the  girls.  Sometimes  the  various 
children  choose  the  one  wearing  the  “prettiest  color.” 

Then  they  are  placed  in  a row  on  the  chalk  rail  in 
order  of  choice  by  the  children.  For  instance,  if  the 
red  doll  is  chosen,  it  is  placed  first  in  line.  Then  some 
child  chooses  the  doll  most  like  red.  it  may  be  red- 
orange  or  red-violet.  Another  follows  and  chooses  the 
doll  most  like  this  last,  and  so  on  till  the  twelve  dolls 
are  arranged  in  a row,  showing  color  relationship. 

Talk  about  relatives  and  how  relatives  often  resemble 

each  other  and  how  people  are  often  named  after  their 

relatives.  Tell  them  it  is  so  with  colors.  Taking,  * 

say,  red  and  orange,  let  them  discover  there  is  a color 

that  looks  much  like  red  and  also  much  like  orange 

and  which  is  named  after  its  relatives,  either  red- 


10 


PAINTING  AND  COLOR 


77 


orange  or  orange-red.  The  same  comparisons  may 
be  made  with  the  other  colors.  Sometimes  the  chil- 
dren play  the  rainbow  dolls  are  going  to  a party,  and 
each  wants  to  wear  flowers  to  match  her  dress.  The 
children  discuss  what  flowers  “red”  should  wear, 
what  would  match  red-orange,  etc.  Sometimes  they 
bring  these  flowers  to  school  and  arrange  them  in  a 
“flower  spectrum.”  The  teacher  may  make  a set  of 
rainbow  dolls  by  cutting  out  fashion  pictures  and 
tinting  them  in  the  spectrum  colors. 
color  -‘Color  Days”  are  always  a joy  to  children.  Golden- 
DAYS  rod  or  yellow  leaves  brought  into  the  schoolroom  on 
“Yellow  Day”  seem  to  bring  added  sunshine  to  the 
room  and  to  the  children.  A “Green  Day”  in  the 
spring  when  the  leaves  first  appear  furnishes  oppor- 
tunity for  a similar  color  exercise.  Let  every  child 
bring  or  wear  something  having  the  color  which  is 
chosen  for  the  day.  On  one  occasion,  when  visiting 
the  schools  of  a large  city,  the  writer  found  them  cele- 
brating “Yellow  Day”  in  one  of  the  attractive  new 
buildings,  located  in  the  better  residence  section  of 
the  city.  All  the  rooms  were  lovely,  and  in  one  every 
girl  wore  a butterfly  bow  of  yellow  crepe  paper,  and 
the  boys  wore  yellow  rosettes  made  of  the  same  material. 
There  were  masses  of  yellow  flowers,  and  the  children 
were  very  happy.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day 
she  visited  a school  in  a slum  district,  and  here  again 
it  was  “Yellow  Day.”  The  teachers  had  taken  pains 
to  get  such  flowers  as  could  be  had,  but  the  children 
instead  of  bringing  flowers,  golden  fruit,  or  lovely 


11 


78 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


bits  of  ribbon,  brought  can  labels  or  bits  of  faded  cloth. 
One  child  had  a bit  of  yellow  string  which  he  presented 
as  his  contribution. 

There  is  no  better  exercise  adapted  to  children 
for  the  free  use  of  rich  glowing  colors  than  those  which 
aim  at  stained  glass  effects,  and  the  children  delight 
in  the  varied  and  marvelous  color  combinations  which 
may  be  produced  by  mixing  red,  yellow,  and  blue. 
II  ave  children  first  dampen  each  cake  of  paint,  letting 
the  water  remain  on  them  while  the  teacher  paints 
quickly  a stained  glass  panel  before  them  (Fig.  12). 
Do  this  by  first  dampening  the  paper  with  the  brush 
or  a small  bit  of  cloth  dipped  in  water.  On  the  moist 
surface  drop  rich  spots  of  red,  yellow,  and  blue,  tip- 
ping the  paper  so  that  the  moisture  will  carry  the 
paint  and  cause  the  colors  to  flow  together.  Do  not 
work  too  long  with  it,  as  too  much  flowing  will  cause 
the  colors  to  get  brown  or  gray.  In  this  connection 
the  writer  recalls  an  interesting  incident  which  was 
related  to  her.  The  children  of  a primary  room  had 
been  painting  sunset  effects.  They  had  also  learned 
a little  poem  in  their  language  work  which  contained 
the  line  “Blue  eyes  came  from  heaven.”  Some  of 
the  children  noticed  that  the  teacher  had  brown  eyes 
instead  of  blue,  and  seemed  puzzled  to  know  where 
she  came  from,  as  obviously  only  “blue  eyes  came 
from  heaven.”  One  little  fellow  whose  sunset  colors 
had  become  hopelessly  mixed,  exclaimed,  “I  know! 
Miss  B.  came  from  heaven  just  at  sunset  and  the 
colors  got  mixed.” 


STAINED 

GLASS 

EFFECTS 


10 


PAINTING  AND  COLOR 


79 


A 

FALL 

EXERCISE 


If  the  teacher  can  do  a stained  Mass  effect  as 

o 

suggested,  she  can  get  delightful  results  from  the 
children,  and  will  be  amazed  at  the  variety  of  colors 
and  the  beautiful  blendings  which  will  come  from 
their  efforts.  These  exercises  may  be  saved  and 
utilized  in  making  little  booklet  covers  for  the  Special 
Days  (Figs.  13,  14,  15,  and  16),  or  book-marks 
(Figs.  17  and  18),  or  cornucopias  (Fig.  19).  A dark 
grayish  tone  of  construction  paper  serves  to  bring  out 
the  bright  hues  of  the  decoration.  In  making  the  book- 
mark  (Fig.  17),  the  star  should  be  pasted  across  the  top 
so  that  its  lower  edge  only  may  slide  over  the  leaf. 
When  making  such  markers  as  the  one  shown  in  Fig. 

o o 

18,  have  the  children  cut  a stencil  of  gray  paper  and 
mount  it  over  the  colored  paper.  The  bright  stained 
glass  colors  will  show  through  the  openings  with  pleas- 
ing effect.  The  making  of  the  butterfly  cornucopia 
(Fig.  19)  is  described  in  detail  under  the  Chapter  on 
Special  Days. 

Akin  to  the  stained  glass  effects  are  the  glowing 
little  bonfires  which  the  children  paint  in  the  Fall, 
and  to  which  Stevenson  refers  in  the  lines 

“Sing  a song  of  Seasons 
Something  bright  in  all 
Flowers  in  the  Summer 
Fires  in  the  Fall.” 

They  first  “build  the  fire”  by  painting  a few  tiny 
crooked  sticks.  Then  they  paint  with  clear  water 
that  spot  where  they  are  going  to  paint  the  fire.  Next 
they  turn  the  paper  upside  down  and  by  putting  a 


17 


19 


80 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


stroke  of  rich  red  and  yellow  near  the  sticks,  and 
letting  the  colors  run  as  in  the  stained  glass  exercise, 
they  get  the  result  shown  in  Fig.  20.  These  should  he 
done  very  small,  else  their  lire  when  finished  will  look 
like  the  burning  of  Baltimore  or  San  Francisco. 

W1  lat  child  does  not  delight  in  the  exquisite  colors 
to  be  seen  in  soap  bubbles?  Let  the  children  blow 
soap  bubbles  and  watch  the  lovely  colors.  Then  let 
them  paint  a page  of  bubbles.  Make  each  bubble 
by  first  painting  a freehand  circle  of  water,  and  before 
this  dries,  drop  in  a tiny  bit  of  color,  letting  it  run  as 
in  the  stained  glass  lesson.  Only  faint  color  is  used 
this  time  (Fig.  21). 

The  prism  is  a delight  to  the  children,  and  it  brings 
the  “Rainbow  Colors”  right  into  the  schoolroom. 
Every  primary  room  should  be  supplied  with  a glass 
prism. 

The  spectrum  colors  may  be  represented  by  placing- 
red,  blue,  and  yellow  tissue  paper  in  the  windows  so 
that  the  light  falls  through  them.  By  overlapping 
various  sheets  of  paper,  every  color  is  produced.  For 
instance,  orange  is  produced  by  one  thickness  each  of 
red  and  yellow.  If  red-orange  is  desired,  it  may  be 
obtained  by  using  two  sheets  of  red  over  one  of  yellow, 
etc.  These  exercises  will  prove  a joy  to  all  and  will 
pave  the  way  to  the  more  formal  study  of  color  in  the 
upper  grades. 


SOAP 

BUBBLE 

PAINTING 


THE 

PRISM 


TISSUE 

PAPER 


21 


THE 

DOLL 

HOUSE 


VII,  MAKING  AND  DECORATING 

Whether  we  call  it  Constructive  Design,  Industrial 
Work,  Manual  Art,  or  simply  Making  in  the 
Primary  Grades,  it  is  now  conceded  to  be  an  essential 
factor  in  arousing  the  interest  and  developing  the 
imagination  and  inventive  faculty  of  children.  When 
one  of  our  great  merchant  princes  said  “Education 
should  consist  of  Headucation  and  Ilanducation,”  he 
voiced  in  original  terms  the  sentiment  of  all  who  are 
giving  thoughtful  attention  to  our  present  day  educa- 
tional problems.  Someone  has  aptly  said  “the  hands 
of  the  child  are  often  the  sensitive  feelers  with  which 
he  lays  hold  of  higher  things  in  his  growing  time.” 
The  croaking  pessimist  who  predicted  that  hand  work 
would  crowd  out  the  “regular  studies”  is  heard  no 
more.  If  he  still  croaks,  his  weak  minor  note  is  lost 
in  the  happy  chorus  of  millions  of  boys  and  girls  whose 
school  work  has  been  vitalized  by  giving  intelligent 
direction  to  their  motor  impulses  and  activities  through 
a variety  of  constructive  exercises. 

The  constructive  work  of  the  lower  grades  naturally 
bases  itself  upon  the  interests  and  activities  of  the 
child,  and  the  doll  house,  that  delight  of  every  childish 
heart,  has  done  not  a little  to  furnish  a nucleus  for 
the  making  of  a great  variety  of  objects.  In  many  of 
our  cities,  the  doll  house  has  become  almost  an  “‘insti- 
tution” in  every  First  and  Second  Grade,  and  the 

si 


82 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


1 


2 


furnishing;  of  this  house  is  a never-failing  source  of 
delight  to  the  children.  One  finds  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  doll  houses,  from  the  one  made  from  the 
humble  orange  crate,  which  is  turned  upon  end  and 
made  to  serve  as  a two-story  cottage,  to  the  finely 
constructed  one  with  • chimney,  windows,  and  stair- 
way, and  which  in  reality  is  a miniature  house.  Four 
rectangular  bandboxes  glued  together  after  the  covers 
are  removed  may  be  used  for  a doll  house  with  four 
corner  rooms,  having  windows  and  doors  cut  in  its 
wall  and  partitions.  A table  of  any  kind  will  make 
a convenient  resting  place  for  the  house  while  the 
work  goes  on.  The  covers  of  the  boxes  may  be 
replaced  by  a large  sheet  of  cardboard  or  glass  for 
the  roof,  which  may  be  removed  whenever  a new 
article  of  furniture  is  to  be  put  in  place.  , 

Sometimes  the  school  janitor  becomes  interested  in 
the  toy-house,  and  if  he  is  at  all  skillful  with  hammer  and 
saw,  there  is  no  limit  to  what  he  may  evolve  from  an  old 
dry-goods  box.  Very  often  the  larger  boys  in  the  upper 
grades  make  the  doll  houses  for  the  primary  children. 
This  is  done  sometimes  in  connection  with  the  Manual 
Training,  but  quite  as  frequently  it  is  done  at  odd 
times  out  of  school  hours.  A very  interesting  house 
of  this  kind  is  pictured  here  (Figs.  1 and  2).  It  was 
made  by  the  school  boys  of  one  of  our  Western  cities. 
As  the  house  was  to  be  built  like  those  of  the  pioneer 
days,  there  was  much  searching  of  old  books  for  pic- 
tures and  descriptions  of  the  early  houses.  Every  part 
of  the  house  was  made  by  the  boys  and  they  be- 


3 


MAKING  AND  DECORATING 


83 


came  positively  enthusiastic  in  its  construction.  They 
gathered  branches  an  inch  in  diameter  which  served 
for  logs.  The  bricks  for  the  fireplace  were  made  by 
the  children  of  a Second  Grade  and  were  fired  at  a 
neighboring  brick  kiln.  The  mortar  and  plaster  were 
mixed  by  the  boys,  and  the  house  when  completed 
was  furnished  by  the  primary  children.  Standing  in 
the  lower  hall,  it  is  a splendid  piece  of  community 
work  in  which  every  room  in  the  school  has  partici- 
pated. 

Fig.  3 shows  a doll  house  from  another  city. 
The  house  shown  in  Fig.  4 was  made  by  pupils  in  one 
of  the  New  York  Schools.  It  is  entirely  different  from 
the  others  and  contains  six  rooms.  The  one  shown  in 
Fig.  5 wa^  made  in  one  of  the  Iowa  schools,  and  is 
quite  unique  in  style,  having  open  sides  which  make 
it  especially  convenient  for  furnishing.  Another  sug- 
gestive house  is  shown  in  Fig.  6.  This  was  made  in 
one  of  the  Wisconsin  schools.  That  the  doll  house 
should  be  furnished  entirely  by  the  children  hardly 
needs  to  be  said,  yet  occasionally  a teacher  loses  sight 
of  the  educational  value  of  this  exercise  entirely  and, 
in  her  desire  to  make  a fine  showing,  does  so  much 
herself  that  the  value  of  the  exercise  to  the  pupils  is 
greatly  minimized.  This  has  been  done  to  such  an 
extent  that  some  of  the  best  Art  Supervisors  have  felt 
that  the  doll  house  was  not  of  sufficient  value  to  justify 
its  presence  in  the  schoolroom.  Certain  it  is  that  only 
as  its  furnishing  is  done  by  the  children,  does  it  serve 
its  best  educational  purpose  in  the  school. 


4 


5 


84 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


1 


1 Ji 
A * m 

7. 


« A 


■n 


«v 


•*« 

t j. 


9. 


After  the  doll  house  is  completed  and  stands  empty,  papering 
it  may  be  placed  in  a corner  of  the  room,  and  the  carpet 
making  for  a time  made  to  center  around  it.  First  ING 
come  the  drawing  and  painting  lessons  in  which  the 
children  design  the  wall  paper.  Possibly  a professional 
designer  might  hesitate  to  use  the  word  “design”  in 
connection  with  the  quavery  little  stripes,  the  queer 
sprangly  flowers,  and  the  ill-spaced  brush  stroke 
repeats,  made  by  the  children,  but  working  happily 
and  earnestly  they  could  not  feel  more  important 
were  they  professional  mural  decorators.  Figs.  7 and 
8 are  reproduced  from  children’s  designs.  The  child 
whose  design  is  chosen  for  a room  in  the  doll  house 
is  as  proud  as  a king.  As  it  would  be  too  tedious 
and  also  undesirable  for  him  to  paint  the  paper  for 
the  whole  house,  the  teacher  selects  several  assistants 
and  each  paints  enough  paper  like  the  chosen  design 
for  one  wall  of  a room.  Sometimes  the  teacher  cuts 
little  stencils  from  the  children’s  designs,  and  the  chil- 
dren use  these  stencils  in  doing  the  surface  covering. 

The  children  may  be  led  to  see  that  a design  which 
is  very  pretty  for  a bedroom  may  not  be  at  all  suitable 
for  a kitchen,  where  plainer  walls  are  better.  The 
more  geometric  planning  of  oilcloth  or  linoleum  for 
the  kitchen  floor  adds  variety  to  the  design  work 
(Fig.  9).  Rugs  may  be  woven  for  the  floors  of  the 
various  rooms.  Sometimes  these  are  merely  woven 
with  strips  of  paper  which  the  children  have 
cut  (Fig.  10),  and  sometimes  with  raffia,  chenille 
(Fig.  11),  real  carpet  yarn,  or  narrow  strips  of 


10. 


11. 


MAKING  AND  DECORATING 


85 


THE 

CURTAINS 


FIRST 

MAKING 

WORK 


SIXTEEN 

SQUARE 

FOLD 


cloth,  the  latter  like  veritable  though  diminutive  rag 
carpets. 

Bits  of  dimity  or  scrim  may  be  used  for  the  window 
curtains.  Sometimes  the  childish  hands  fashion  queer 
little  stencil  designs  for  the  curtains  (Fig.  12),  or  paint 
the  borders  with  free-hand  brush  strokes  (Fig.  13). 
Reed  and  bead  portieres  for  the  wide  doors  leading 
from  room  to  room  may  be  made  by  stringing  straws 
and  kindergarten  beads. 

F or  the  making  work  of  very  young  children,  wood 
is  out  of  the  question,  and  heavy  construction  or  bogus 
paper  or  light  weight  cardboard  seems  to  be  the  most 
suitable  material,  because  it  is  easily  bent  or  cut  by 
the  small  fingers,  holds  its  shape  well  and  is  at  the 
same  time  inexpensive.  Before  attempting  the  furni- 
ture— indeed  before  the  children  do  any  original 
making  — they  should  be  given  a few  dictation 
lessons. 

The  making  from  dictation  of  a square  or  oblong 
box  or  basket  (Figs.  14,  15,  16,  17),  or  some  other 
equally  simple  object  based  on  the  “sixteen  square 
fold''  furnishes  excellent  preliminary  work.  These 
boxes  and  baskets  may  be  decorated  with  simple  brush 
stroke  borders  and  used  for  Christmas  or  May  Day, 
if  desired.  The  time  spent  in  thoroughly  mastering 
these  early  dictation  exercises  is  well  repaid  in  the 
original  work  which  is  developed  later  on,  and  as  the 
sixteen  square  fold  is  the  basis  of  much  of  the  con- 
struction work,  it  is  important  that  it  be  well  under- 
stood. 


15. 


17. 


86 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


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In  giving  the  first  dictation  lesson,  it  will  be  a help 
to  the  children  if  the  teacher  draws  an  oblong  on  the 
front  chalkboard,  calling  this  oblong  the  top  of  her 
desk,  and  faces  it,  as  she  gives  her  directions,  just 
as  the  pupils  face  their  desks.  It  will  be  an  advantage 
if  she  uses  a large  square  of  paper,  making  each  fold 
as  she  dictates  to  the  children.  She  should  go  so 

o 

slowly  that  the  children  may  easily  follow  each  step 
in  the  folding.  After  this  she  may  test  the  pupils  by 
collecting  the  first  squares  and  having  each  child  fold 
one  independently.  After  each  child  is  provided  with 
a square  of  paper,  the  dictation  in  the  first  instance 
may  proceed  somewhat  as  follows: 

Place  square  so  that  its  front  edge  rests  on  the 
front  edge  of  the  desk.  Fold  front  edge  of  square 
over  so  that  the  front  and  back  edges  are  even.  Crease 
firmly,  using  finger  nail  for  pressing.  Open.  Fold 
front  edge  to  middle  crease.  Open.  Turn  the  back 
edge  around  so  that  it  becomes  the  front  edge,  and 
fold  to  middle  crease.  Turn  the  paper  so  that  these 
creases  run  from  front  to  back  of  the  desk,  and  then 
repeat  the  dictation  for  the  other  folds.  The  children 
will  find  their  paper  has  been  creased  into  sixteen 
squares. 

To  make  the  square  box,  cut  away  all  of  the  squares 
which  are  indicated  by  the  dark  tone  in  Fig.  18,  then 
cut  on  the  heavy  lines  and  fold  and  paste.  Fig.  19 
shows  how  two  squares  are  cut  away  in  making  the 
oblong  box,  and  Figs.  20  and  21  show  the  patterns  of 
a square  and  oblong  basket. 


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IllPlite 

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■’ 

MAKING  AND  DECORATING 


87 


ORIGINAL 

MAKING 


The  children  soon  discover  that  what  they  learn 
in  the  making  of  these  boxes  and  baskets  may  be 
applied  to  the  making  of  innumerable  things.  The 
creative  impulse  is  strong  in  most  children,  and  while 
there  is  need  of  much  guidance  by  the  teacher,  she 
should  always  leave  ample  opportunity  for  them  to 
work  out  their  own  ideas.  Figs.  22,  23,  24,  and  25 
show  some  of  the  original  designs  worked  out  by  four 
small  pupils.  The  teacher  suggested  how  to  use  the 
square  box  for  the  body  of  the  bureau.  She  also  sug- 
gested how  oblong  boxes  may  be  made  to  serve  as 
drawers  for  the  dresser,  but  the  knobs  or  handles, 
shelves  and  mirrors,  as  well  as  the  general  spacings, 
were  worked  out  by  each  child  for  himself  according 
to  his  ow'n  ideas  of  fitness  and  pleasing  effect.  Could 
we  show  the  entire  set  of  fifty  bureaus  from  this  school, 
it  would  be  found  that  the  results  reveal  quite  a degree 
of  creative  ability  along  with  more  or  less  skillful 
manual  manipulation.  Of  course  there  were  a few 
children  who,  at  the  end  of  the  lesson,  had  only  a 
poor,  battered,  crumpled  object  to  show  in  place  of 
a bureau,  but  these  children  were  the  very  ones  who 
needed  such  work  most,  and  possibly  the  next  time 
the  teacher  gave  a lesson  of  this  kind,  she  seated  these 
children  in  a little  group  near  the  front  of  the  room 
and  made -a  special  effort  to  help  them. 

It  may  be  well  to  state  that  for  such  making  lessons 
it  is  necessary  to  give  more  time  than  is  given  to  the 
ordinary  drawing  work.  Teachers  usually  plan  to  put 
several  periods  of  drawing  together  when  making  of 


22 


25 


88 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


28 


this  kind  is  to  be  done.  This  gives  time  for  distribu- 
tion of  scissors,  paper,  and  paste,  for  general  sugges- 
tions, and  for  careful  clearing  up  after  the  lesson. 
The  paste  is  usually  provided  by  putting  a little  on 
small  pieces  of  paper  placed  on  each  desk  of  every 
other  row  so  that  two  children  may  paste  from  one 
desk. 

In  the  lesson  on  making  cradles,  the  same  origi- 
nality is  shown.  Figs.  26,  27,  and  28  show  only 
a few  of  the  ideas  worked  out  by  childish  minds 
and  hands.  Every  child  in  the  room  made  a cradle, 
and  while  many  made  the  old  Puritan  cradle 
(Fig.  26),  as  dictated  by  their  teacher,  they  were 
encouraged  to  devise  and  construct  other  styles 
of  cradles.  The  chairs  and  sofa  (Figs.  29,  30,  31, 
and  32)  are  just  as  interesting  both  in  form  and 
construction,  and  possibly  chairs  constructed  on  these 
lines  would  be  fully  as  comfortable  as  much  of  the 
so-called  art  furniture  which  is  shown  in  the  stores. 
Again,  we  see  how  the  square  box  was  used  as  a basis 
for  the  original  making  of  the  piano  (Fig.  33) ; how 
the  worker  labored  over  the  making  of  the  music  rack, 
and  the  keyboard  whose  tiny  keys  were  drawn  on  a 
strip  of  white  paper  which  he  pasted  in  place.  The 
making  of  the  kitchen  stove  (Fig.  34)  was  full  of 
delight  to  the  children,  inasmuch  as  those  who  did 
especially  well  were  allowed  to  use  a heavy  sheet  of 
black  paper  instead  of  the  bogus  paper  with  which 
their  construction  work  was  usually  done.  The  child 
whose  stove  is  here  reproduced  was  especially  skillful. 


31 


MAKING  AND  DECORATING 


89 


LOVE  OF 
GOOD 
WORK- 
MANSHIP 


TRANS- 

POR- 

TATION 

LESSON 


During  one  of  these  lessons,  given  to  Second  Grade 
children  which  the  writer  observed,  one  little  girl  held 
up  the  paper  chair  on  which  she  was  patiently  labor- 
ing, examined  it  critically  and  then  looked  at  her 
teacher.  When  the  teacher  asked  her  what  she  thought 
of  it,  she  replied,  “I  think  it  is  awfully  un-neat.”  The 
word  was  very  expressive  and  deserves  coining.  There 
is  very  little  petty  jealousy  among  young  children, 
and  though  each  child  works  earnestly  and  laboriously 
and  with  much  puckering  of  his  round  face  and  much 
activity  of  his  chubby  fingers  in  the  hope  that  his 
chair,  table,  dresser,  or  stove  may  be  chosen  for  the 
doll  house,  the  children  who  are  not  so  fortunate  as 
to  win  this  honor,  often  quite  swell  with  pride  as  they 
point  to  the  work  of  some  other  boy  or  girl.  The 
'making  of  such  objects  may  not  necessarily  depend 
upon  doll  houses  to  be  furnished.  Indeed  much  of 
that  reproduced  here  comes  from  a city  where  it  is 
not  deemed  advisable  to  use  the  doll  house. 

In  this  same  city  we  observed  a lesson  in  trans- 
portation (Figs.  35  to  47  inclusive),  which  would 
delight  any  primary  teacher.  Along  with  the  making 
of  various  articles  of  furniture,  the  children  had  been 
given  a dictation  lesson  for  making  a little  cart  or 


wagon,  and  had  learned  that  the  box  principle  enters 
into  their  construction.  They  had  also  discovered  that 
the  wheels  and  shafts  have  to  be  made  of  two  thick- 
nesses of  paper  in  order  to  be  firm  enough.  The 
teacher  led  the  children  to  talk  about  ways  in  which 
people  travel.  They  told  her  of  trips  they  had  made. 


90 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


41 


42 


44 


This  one  had  been  down  the  river  in  a steamboat, 
another  had  ridden  on  her  father’s  express  wagon, 
while  others  had  traveled  in  street  cars,  automobiles,  etc. 
The  result  was  most  interesting.  Canoes,  sleds,  autos, 
street  ears,  indeed,  almost  every  conceivable  vehicle 
and  many  inconceivable  to  “grown  ups”  were  made 
by  the  children.  In  such  lessons  it  is  quite  a study 
to  watch  the  children  as  they  work  out  various  ways 
of  putting  things  together.  One  boy  puts  his  wheels 
on  by  rolling  a piece  of  paper  so  as  to  form  a 
stiff  rod  for  the  axle,  which  he  inserts  in  his  wheels. 
Another  conceives  the  idea  of  pasting  a band  across 
the  bottom  of  his  cart  or  auto,  bending  the  ends  of 
this  band  downward  and  pasting  the  wheels  to  these. 
As  a rule,  the  girls  are  neater  about  this  work,  but 
do  not  show  the  same  inventive  power,  although  they 
evince  the  same  interest.  Only  a few  samples  of  these 
objects  can  be  shown  here,  and  these  very  much 
reduced  in  size,  but  they  give  an  idea  of  how  such 
lessons  may  be  worked  out  in  a school  where  con- 
structive design  is  taught  logically  and  carefully,  and 
with  a desire  to  develop  creative  power. 

Very  young  children  take  little  interest  in  merely 
making  designs , that  is,  working  out  problems  in 
what  the  artists  technically  term  “pure  design” 
without  reference  to  definite  application.  They  take 
genuine  pleasure,  however,  in  decorating  their  Thanks- 
giving, Christmas,  or  Easter  booklets,  their  Valentines, 
calendars,  needle  books,  scratch  pads,  blotter  pads, 
etc.  In  the  chapter  devoted  to  Special  Days  we  shall 


DECORA- 
TION OF 
OBJECTS 


46 


45 


47 


MAKING  AND  DECORATING 


91 


have  occasion  to  refer  to  booklet  and  calendar-making, 
and  decorating.  We  shall  take  occasion  to  show  here 
only  a few  examples  of  simple  decoration  from  First 
and  Second  Grades.  Notice  that  the  children  have 
been  led  to  see  the  beauty  of  simplicity,  as  illustrated 
by  the  needle  book  (Fig.  48)  with  its  single  broad 
marginal  line  and  brush  stroke  at  corners.  It  is  a 
useful  little  thing,  too,  with  its  flannel  leaves  sewed  in 
between  the  two  heavy  paper  covers.  We  see  the  same 
simplicity  in  both  the  match  scratch  (Fig.  49),  and  the 
blotter  pad  (Fig.  50). 

Figures  51,  52,  53,  54,  55,  and  56  show  some 
of  the  decorations  which  the  children  of  the  Second 
and  Third  Grades  made  for  their  box  covers. 
There  are  several  ways  of  working  out  such  designs. 
One  way  is  to  fold  and  cut  the  paper  as  in  the 
making  of  “snow  flakes.”  This  is  the  easiest  for 
very  young  children,  but  as  the  best  results  are  often 
accidental,  it  is  not  strictly  speaking  design.  To 
illustrate:  The  children  have  made  square  boxes 

which  they  wish  to  decorate.  Each  child  is  given  a 
square  of  thin  paper  the  size  of  his  box.  He  folds  it 
on  its  diameters  and  diagonals,  and  cuts  it  in  some 
such  way  as  shown  by  Figs.  57,  58,  and  59.  He  opens 
his  paper  and  finds  he  has  forms  shown  by  Figs.  60, 
61,  or  62,  according  as  he  has  cut.  Laying  this  stencil 
on  his  box  cover,  before  the  cover  is  pasted,  he  paints 
through  the  holes  with  this  effect  (Figs.  63,  64,  and  65). 
The  box  illustrated  by  Fig.  55  was  done  by  a Second 
Grade  pupil  in  the  way  above  described. 


48 


49 


55 


50 


51 


56 


54 


53 


92 


MAKING  AND  DECORATING 


[ 

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C> 

A Ok 

61 


This  does  very  well  in  the  beginning,  but  in  order 
to  have  a method  by  which  children  actually  plan  for 
beauty,  and  by  which  they  design  in  the  true  sense,  the 
following  is  suggested,  which  was  probably  used  in 
working  out  all  of  the  designs  here  shown,  except  Fig. 
55.  Assume  that  the  children  have  a square  surface  to 
work  upon.  Using  a ruler,  they  mark  oil'  the  edges 
in  quarter-inch  dots  connecting  with  very  light  lines, 
which  divide  the  surface  into  many  little  squares. 
With  these  lines  and  squares  to  guide  them,  they  may 
work  out  a great  variety  of  designs.  Fig.  66  shows 
a square  decorated  in  this  way,  and  the  light  “work- 
ing lines”  have  been  left  in  one  corner  to  show  the 
method.  The  first  lesson  should  be  dictated  from  the 
blackboard.  Cheap  paper  ruled  in  squares  of  different 
sizes  is  carried  by  many  school  supply  houses,  and  the 
children  delight  in  working  out  designs  upon  this 
paper.  This  is  excellent  seat  work. 


63 


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64 

65 


4 


66 


VIII.  WORKING  IN  CLAY 


EXPENSE 

OF 

MATERIAL 


OBJEC- 

TIONS 

EASILY 

OVER- 

COME 


There  is  no  medium  richer  in  possibilities  for  the 
form  training  of  children  than  clay.  It  responds 
almost  instantly  to  the  touch  of  their  young  fingers, 
and  by  working  with  it  they  obtain  an  idea  of  solidity 
and  form  which  may  be  obtained  in  no  other  way. 
Then,  too,  the  very  nature  of  the  clay  discourages  a 
tendency  toward  detail  in  execution  to  which  children 
usually  give  undue  importance  in  their  drawing,  and 
compels  them  to  work  for  large  effects.  This  fact 
alone  is  a strong  argument  for  the  use  of  clay  in  every 
primary  school. 

The  small  expense  incident  to  the  use  of  clay 
should  also  be  taken  into  account.  A very  small 
expenditure  at  the  beginning  of  the  school  year  fur- 
nishes material  for  the  entire  year,  as  the  clay,  with 
proper  care,  may  be  used  over  and  over.  Sixty  pounds 
of  clay  should  furnish  a primary  room  of  fifty  pupils 
with  enough  material  for  a year. 

An  objection  sometimes  urged  by  teachers  against 
the  use  of  clay  is  the  difficulty  of  keeping  it  in  the 
proper  condition.  This  ceases  to  be  a serious  objec- 
tion, however,  when  one  knows  how  to  care  for  it, 
and  especially  if  the  teacher  is  on  friendly  terms  with 
the  janitor,  who,  busy  as  he  is,  can  easily  find  five 
minutes  a day  to  care  for  the  clay.  A tactful  teacher  will 

know  how  to  handle  the  situation.  Someone  has  said: 

9:3 


94 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


“ Man  is  naught  but  a lump  of  clay 
Gifted  with  hopes  and  fears 
And  woman  can  mould  him  any  way 
If  she  softens  him  with  her  tears.” 

However,  no  teacher  will  have  to  resort  to  this  melo- 
dramatic way  of  attaining  her  purpose.  Even  should 
conditions  render  it  impossible  for  the  janitor  to 
attend  to  the  clay,  it  is  not  difficult  for  any  teacher 
to  keep  it  in  condition  for  her  own  work. 

Clay  may  be  bought  in  bulk  by  the  barrel  or  half  prepara- 
barrel,  in  powdered  form,  in  five-pound  bricks,  or  in 
the  shape  of  prepared  clay  or  plasticine.  The  last  care 
named  form  would  be  ideal  were  it  not  for  the  cost, 
the  clay  having  been  mixed  with  some  oily  prepara- 
tion which  keeps  it  plastic  and  workable  all  the  time. 

To  prepare  the  powdered  cla^,  it  should  be  placed  in 
bags  of  thick  cloth  or  canvas  and  suspended  in  a 
crock  half  full  of  water  over  night.  It  is  then  ready 
to  be  pounded  or  kneaded  into  shape  and  cared  for 
as  described  below. 

If  the  clay  is  in  bulk  or  in  brick  form,  it  must  be 
broken  into  small  pieces,  put  into  a large  stone  jar 
or  crock  and  nearly  covered  with  water.  After  some 
hours  the  clay  will  have  become  thoroughly  saturated 
and  should  then  be  put  into  a strong  bag  and  pounded 
or  kneaded  into  plastic  condition.  It  should  then  be 
put  back  into  the  crock,  pierced  with  pencil  holes, 
sprinkled  with  water,  covered  with  a moist  cloth  and 
the  jar  carefully  covered.  When  desired  for  use,  the 
clay  may  be  cut  into  lumps  of  uniform  size  by  means 


WORKING  IN  CLAY 


95 


PREPAR- 

ING 

DESKS 

FOR 

MODELING 

LESSON 


OVER- 

WORKING 

THE 

CLAY 


PURIFY- 

ING 

THE 

CLAY 


of  a large  knife  or  by  sawing  with  fine  linen  twine. 
In  some  places  the  clay  is  kept  in  “working  condition” 
all  the  year,  while  in  many  other  places  all  of  the  model- 
ing work  is  done  in  two  or  three  consecutive  weeks 
in  order  to  save  the  extra  labor  of  keeping  the  material 
always  in  readiness.  Educationally  the  first  method 
is  by  far  the  better,  but  practically  the  latter  method 
is  often  necessary  on  account  of  conditions. 

Before  giving  a modeling  lesson,  each  desk  should 
be  covered  either  with  paper  or  oilcloth.  If  news- 
papers are  used,  they  should  be  thrown  away  after 
the  lesson,  but  if  heavy  manila  paper  is  available,  it 
may  be  cut  into  pieces  the  size  of  the  desk  and  the 
same  papers  made  to  serve  for  many  lessons.  Oil- 
cloth is  the  best  material  for  this  purpose.  Slates 
are  also  frequently  used.  In  some  schools  pie  tins 
are  used  as  trays  on  which  the  modeling  is  done. 

Clay,  however  well  prepared  for  modeling,  soon 
becomes  dry  and  hard  when  worked  over  and  over  in 
the  children’s  hands.  The  modeling  lessons,  there- 
fore, should  be  carried  on  with  a good  “swing”  so 
as  to  allow  no  time  for  useless  handling. 

A few  of  the  best  pieces  should  be  allowed  to  dry 
that  they  may  be  kept  for  a permanent  exhibit.  After 
the  lesson  the  clay  should  be  gathered  up  and  taken 
to  the  basement  to  be  pounded  and  put  away  again 
in  a crock  as  heretofore  described. 

Frequent  handling  by  many  fingers  and  confining 
the  clay  in  close  jars  to  keep  it  plastic  may  cause  it 
to  become  musty  after  a time.  For  this  reason  it 


96 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


1 


should  be  given  an  occasional  sun-bath  by  spreading 
it  on  boards  out  of  doors  and  letting  the  sun  and 
wind  purify  it.  When  thoroughly  dry,  break  it  into 
small  pieces  and  put  it  away  for  future  use  as  when 
first  purchased. 

Much  of  the  clay  modeling  in  the  lower  grades 
is  done  in  connection  with  the  History  and  Language 
W ork.  The  rude  bits  of  pottery  which  the  children 
fashion  in  connection  with  the  Hiawatha  Tale,  or  the 
Esquimo  Agloos,  and  the  animals  which  they  make 
to  illustrate  the  Agoonac  story  come  under  this  head. 
We  h ave  seen  some  especially  delightful  work  in  this 
line.  The  Esquimo  village  always  forms  an  interest- 
ing piece  of  community  work  with  its  blocks  of  ice, 
polar  bears,  sledges,  and  Agloos,  all  modeled  in  clay. 
The  writer  once  visited  a room  where  the  children 
were  busily  engaged  in  a unique  piece  of  community 
work.  They  were  building  a Pilgrim  house.  Some 
were  modeling  the  logs  and  some  the  chimney  blocks, 
and  already  the  building  had  begun  to  look  quite 
like  a house.  Standing  on  the  sand-table,  it  was  to 
be  the  nucleus  of  much  of  their  cutting,  modeling,  and 
construction  work.  We  have  seen  the  Old  Plymouth 
Settlement,  a Street  in  Holland,  and  Robinson  Crusoe’s 
Island  illustrated  largely  in  clay.  We  have  also  seen 
a series  of  modeling  lessons  carried  on  in  connection 
with  the  Christmas  Story  and  with  results  that  brought 
evident  joy  to  the  children. 

They  were  told  about  that  strange  Eastern  coun- 
try where  the  shepherds  guide  their  flocks  to  grazing 


STORY 

TELLING 

IN 

CLAY 


8 


WORKING  IN  CLAY 


97 


grounds  often  far  from  the  home  fold  and  how  care- 

o 

fully  they  guard  their  sheep  from  the  wolves,  and  how 
the  faithful  shepherd  dog  helps  his  master  protect  the 
sheep  from  any  prowling  foe. 

The  sand-table  became  for  the  time  an  Oriental 
pasture  upon  which  the  children  built  a fold  for  the 
sheep  by  sticking  twigs  upright  in  the  sand  to  form 
a circular  stockade.  On  one  side  was  the  opening 
where  the  sheep  might  enter  and  at  this  opening- 
watched  the  faithful  shepherd  dog.  Within  the  fold 
were  the  sheep  and  lambs  resting  after  their  long  day 
of  grazing-.  In  the  margin  are  shown  two  of  the  lambs 
and  also  one  of  the  dogs  which  guarded  the  entrance 
to  the  fold.  They  are  not  wonderful.  They  show 
simply  actual  work  of  childish  fingers  guided  by  a 
teacher,  retaining  to  a large  degree  the  “child 
heart." 

Nor  did  the  lessons  cease  with  the  modeling  of 
things  connected  with  the  shepherd  story,  for  there 
were  the  wise  men  who  came  across  the  desert  on  their 
camels,  and  from  pictures  or  toys  the  children  gained 
an  idea  of  these  strange,  awkward  animals  and  great 
was  their  delight  in  modeling  them.  They  fashioned 
them  in  a recumbent  position,  as  it  would  have  been 
impossible  for  the  children  to  model  their  long  slender 
legs  in  clay.  The  pottery  reproduced  on  the  margin 
of  another  page  of  this  chapter  was  a feature  of  these 
lessons,  for  the  children  were  told  about  the  scarcity 
of  water  in  the  desert  and  about  the  water  jars  which 
are  fashioned  from  the  clay  of  that  country. 


7 


98 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


Among  the  simpler  forms  from  which  children 
may  model,  nothing  better  can  be  found  than  fruits 
and  vegetables.  In  choosing  specimens  for  this  pur- 
pose it  is  best  to  avoid  those  that  are  too  nearly  sym- 
metrical. For  instance,  if  an  orange  were  selected, 
the  children  would  be  likely  to  merely  roll  a mass  of 
clay  between  their  palms  till  it  became  spherical  and 
call  it  an  orange.  If,  however,  a pear,  a carrot  or 
a beet  is  chosen,  their  irregular  shapes  will  not  only 
arouse  the  child’s  interest  but  will  stimulate  greater 
skill  and  ingenuity  in  his  modeling.  Whenever  possi- 
ble, it  is  best  for  each  child  to  have  the  object  to  be 
modeled  on  his  desk,  as  he  will  gain  a better  notion 
of  its  form  by  handling  it. 

In  modeling,  the  children  may  use  a clay  tablet 
and  merely  show  the  form  in  “relief”  upon  this  tablet, 
or  they  may  model  “in  the  round.”  These  two  ways 
are  plainly  shown  in  the  pear  and  the  beet  here  repro- 
duced. (Figs.  8 and  9.) 

Although  teachers  frequently  require  First  and 
Second  Grade  children  to  model  twrigs,  such  work 
may  well  be  postponed  until  the  Third  Grade.  It 
should  never  be  attempted  without  first  modeling 
a tablet  on  which  to  work.  The  twigs  chosen  for 
such  lessons  should  be  rugged  and  coarse  and  not 
fine  and  dainty  in  form  with  flat  leaves.  The  clay 
tablet  should  not  be  merely  a slab  of  clay  cut  from 
the  large  lump  with  some  mechanical  instrument.  It 
should  be  roughly  modeled  by  the  child  with  his  own 
hands,  and  exactness  and  smoothness  of  surface  are 


FRUIT 

AND 

VEGETA- 

BLES 


MODELING 

TWIGS 


9 


WORKING  IN  CLAY 


99 


quite  non-essential.  Each  child  should  have  a twig 
on  his  desk  placed  in  the  position  which  he  thinks  the 
most  pleasing.  He  should  draw  a line  on  the  tablet 
to  represent  the  slant  of  the  stem  and  upon  this  line 
he  should  model  his  twig,  putting  the  clay  on  bit  by 
bit,  trying  to  show  where  the  edge  of  the  leaf  curls 
over,  where  the  burrs  or  nuts  or  bursting  leaves  stand 
highest  and  where  they  rest  close  to  the  tablet. 

modeling  It  is  no  longer  considered  desirable  to  have  chil- 
forms  dren  model  geometric  solids  such  as  the  square  prism, 
the  ovoid,  the  cylinder,  etc.  In  the  clay,  as  in  the 
drawing  work,  objects  may  be  selected  which  resemble 
these  types  and  which  carry  greater  interest  for  the 
child.  He  will  model  bricks  for  the  Christmas  chim- 
ney with  far  more  enthusiasm  than  could  be  aroused 
by  the  square  prism,  and  he  will  enter  into  the  model- 
ing of  eggs  at  Easter  time  with  a zest  such  as 
no  wooden  ovoid  could  have  produced.  A football 
appeals  to  him  more  strongly  than  the  most  perfect 
wooden  ellipsoid,  and  he  will  labor  to  model  the 
cylindrical  boiler  and  smokestack  of  a toy  engine, 
or  the  cannon  with  its  spherical  balls  with  a joy  and 
eagerness  which  the  abstract  wooden  models  could 
never  evoke. 

modeling  As  has  been  suggested  in  another  paragraph  of 
pottery  ppg  c}ia p ter , the  children  delight  in  fashioning  from 
the  clay,  bowls,  jars  and  other  simple  pottery  forms, 
and  these  lessons  may  often  come  as  the  outgrowth 
of  the  History  and  Language  Work.  In  modeling  a 
bowl,  there  are  three  methods  which  may  be  used  by 


100 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


11 


the  child  with  equal  ease  and  with  the  same  general 
results.  lie  may  model  a circular  tablet  and  then 
around  its  edge,  bit  by  bit,  build  up  the  wall  of  his 
dish,  shaping  it  as  he  goes;  lie  may  use  the  “coil 
method”  by  making  short  strips  of  the  soft  clay,  mold- 
ing the  first  to  the  base  and  building  up  the  bowl, 
layer  on  layer,  and  working  the  whole  into  a solid 
wall  as  he  goes,  or  he  may  take  a lump  of  clay  and 
by  pressing  his  thumbs  into  the  mass,  form  a cavity, 
proceeding  next  by  pressing  and  molding  the  clay 
outward  or  inward  to  form  the  curved  sides  of  his 
bowl.  When  modeling  vase  forms  or  pitchers,  if  the 
child  wishes  to  make  a handle,  he  should  be  taught 
not  merely  to  stick  the  handle  on  the  body,  but  mold 
it  to  the  body  so  that  it  will  be  strong  and  solid  if 
fired  in  a kiln. 

In  a few  schools  where  there  is  a kiln  for  firing 
and  where  the  regular  potters'  clay  may  be  used  as 
an  occasional  “special  treat,”  the  children  have  made 
little  jars  which  after  firing  have  been  put  to  actual 
service.  Each  child  has  filled  his  jar  with  earth  in 
which  he  has  placed  the  seeds  for  his  nature  lessons. 

It  is  a great  pleasure  to  him  to  have  his  own  jar,  to 
plant  and  water  his  seeds  and  watch  their  growth 
from  day  to  day.  Usually,  however,  the  children 
fashion  their  pottery  from  common  clay  which  shares 
the  fate  of  their  other  creations  by  being  broken  up 
for  use  in  other  lessons.  modeling 

Birds  and  animals  make  fine  objects  for  the  chil-  BIRDS 

J _ AND 

dren  to  model,  and  in  this  day  of  artificial  Easter  animals 


12 


13 


WORKING  IN  CLAY 


101 


fowls  and  rabbits,  plaster  casts,  Teddy  Bears,  and 
stuffed  animals,  it  is  not  difficult  to  find  sugges- 
tions for  subjects.  Bears  and  elephants  are  especially 
good  because  of  their  clumsy  legs  which  support 
the  body  so  well,  and  because  these  animals  are 
so  accurately  reproduced  in  toys  which  are  easily 
available. 

Modeling  from  “live”  animals  is  interesting  and 
the  rabbit  furnishes  one  of  the  best  subjects.  Turtles 
are  also  easily  modeled.  Let  the  children  try  to  tell 
the  story  of  the  “Hare  and  the  Tortoise”  in  clay. 
The  writer  once  saw  a baby  alligator  serving  for  both 
a nature  and  a clay  lesson.  Animals  with  slender  legs 
should  not  be  attempted  unless  represented  in  reclin- 
ing positions  or  modeled  on  some  framework,  which 
is  usually  too  difficult  for  small  children.  We  have 
seen  children  laboring  to  model  a clay  duck  standing 
on  its  two  slender  clay  legs,  till  they  were  utterly  dis- 
couraged, one  small  boy  saying  to  his  duck  as  he  gave 
its  leg  a vicious  thump,  “There,  I'll  give  you  the 
rheumatism  and  I guess  that'll  make  your  legs  stiff 
enough.” 

making  In  modeling  animals  or  people,  sculptors  always 

frame-  erec‘t  a skeleton  or  framework  of  wood  or  metal,  and 
work  Upon  and  about  this  mold  their  clay.  This  suggests 
a plan  which  may  be  utilized  where  cornstalks  are 
obtainable.  The  cornstalks  may  be  cut  into  lengths, 
and  the  children  can  fashion  them  into  frameworks 
on  which  to  model.  The  accompanying  illustration 
shows  this  quite  clearly.  (Fig.  20.) 


15 


18 


lt> 


102 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


Children  are  sometimes  allowed  to  use  bits  of 
slender  twigs,  toothpicks,  or  pieces  of  wire  to  rein- 
force the  legs  of  their  birds  or  animals.  In  case  a 
standing  pose  is  attempted,  a clay  tablet  should  first 
be  fashioned  for  the  model  of  animal  or  person  to 
stand  upon. 

Neither  modeling  upon  a framework  nor  rein- 
forcing by  means  of  sticks  or  wires  should  be  en- 
couraged except  in  the  case  of  children  with  excep- 
tional talent,  as  the  simpler  modeling  lessons  requiring 
no  framework  are  better  adapted  to  Primary  Grades. 

Human  figures  in  violent  action  are  much  harder 
to  model  than  those  in  simple  sitting  or  standing 
positions  on  account  of  the  bends  of  arms  and  legs 
which  make  it  difficult  to  balance  the  figure  properly. 
For  this  reason  children  should  not  be  required 
to  model  figures  in  which  the  action  is  pronounced- 
The  clay  soldier  shown  here  makes  an  excellent 
subject  for  a lesson  on  any  patriotic  day,  such 
as  Lincoln's  Birthday,  Washington’s  Birthday,  or 
Decoration  Day.  The  child  may  build  up  a mass 
of  clay  at  the  back  of  his  soldier  and  thus  make  him 
stand  firmly.  A “pea-stick"  is  used  to  reinforce  the 
gun  and  bayonet. 

The  clay  work  of  primary  children  is  bound  to  be 
crude,  but  they  will  put  much  happy  effort  into  it, 
and  the  things  which  appear  almost  shapeless  to  those 
who  have  traveled  far  from  childhood  will  show  to 
the  sympathetic  and  helpful  teacher  the  beginnings  of 
many  things  that  are  to  be. 


MODELING 

FROM 

PEOPLE 


RESULTS 


20 


IX.  CUTTING  FROM  PAPER 

There  is  probably  no  kind  of  form  training  for 
young  children  about  which  teachers  differ  more 
widely  and  whose  educational  value  has  been  longer 
a question  of  dispute.  This  is  especially  the  case 
with  freehand  cutting.  Teachers  who  defend  this 
work  maintain  that  the  nature  of  the  medium  and 
the  process  compel  the  child  to  a conception  of  the 
whole  mass  and  therefore  to  the  elimination  of  petty 
details  which  is  desirable  in  early  form  expression. 
On  the  other  hand,  those  in  opposition  claim  that  the 
same  training  for  big  effects  may  be  secured  through 
the  use  of  clay  or  the  making  of  brush  and  ink  sil- 
houettes. Its  friends  call  attention  to  the  disciplinary 
value  of  concentrated  attention  which  goes  with  this 
work,  since  any  lapse  of  attention  or  slip  of  the  scissors 
results  in  mistakes  which  cannot  be  easily  rectified. 
Those  less  friendly  point  to  the  many  children  who 
are  required  to  hack  out  meaningless  shapes  of  paper 
under  the  pretense  of  “busy  work”  and  remark  that 
it  is  a pitiful  waste  of  time  and  material. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  unless  the  work  in  paper- 

cntting  is  carefully  planned  for  the  purpose  of  training 

and  not  merely  to  keep  the  children  “busy”  it  will 

prove  wasteful  and  valueless.  The  author  is. a strong 

believer  in  the  occasional  paper-cutting  lesson. 

Although  she  has  often  seen  work  which  has  tem- 

103 


104 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


porarily  weakened  her  faith,  she  lias  always  returned 
to  the  conviction  that  paper-cutting  lessons  rightly 
handled  will  help  the  form  concepts  of  children  and 
their  expression  of  these  concepts. 

'The  scissors  used  for  this  work  should  be  sharp- 
pointed  and  should  work  easily.  Round-pointed 
scissors  are  not  a good  tool  for  paper-cutting.  They 
limit  the  possibilities  of  such  work.  Whenever  possi- 
ble, schools  should  own  sets  of  scissors  to  be  supplied 
to  pupils  for  the  cutting  lessons,  although  we  know 
in  some  localities  they  are  brought  from  home,  causing 
annoyance  to  mothers  in  many  cases  and  exposing  the 
children  to  some  danger  from  accidents. 

The  first  work  should  lie  very  simple,  as  the  cut- 
ting of  freehand  circles,  to  teach  pupils  how  to  handle 
the  scissors  and  turn  the  paper,  while  “feeding  it  into 
the  mouth  of  the  scissors”  as  they  cut.  Many  changes 
may  be  rung  on  this  circle-cutting.  For  instance,  the 
best  large  circle  in  each  row  may  be  called  a plate 
and  the  owner  of  this  plate  may  be  allowed  to 
gather  all  of  the  best  and  “roundest”  small  circles  in 
his  row.  The  children  may  play  that  these  little 
circles  are  cookies,  tarts,  or  crackers.  Fig.  1 shows 
how  one  girl,  who.  wished  to  make  her  tart  very  real- 
istic, finished  it.  This  girl  knew  that  lard  was  one 
of  the  ingredients  of  tarts  and  that  lard  came  from 
the  pig,  so  the  picture  of  a pig,  smeared  over  with 
red  crayon  to  represent  jelly  appeared  on  her  circle. 
The  children  may  make  baskets  from  their  freehand 
circles.  To  do  this  requires  only  a few  strokes  of  the 


SCISSORS 


FIRST 

WORK 


CUTTING  FROM  PAPER 


105 


scissors,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2.  The  black  parts  repre- 
sent the  portions  of  the  circle  which  are  cut  away  to 
make  the  basket.  They  like  to  make  watches,  using 
white  paper  for  the  face  of  the  watch  and  tinted  paper 
for  the  larger  circle  which  represents  the  case  (Fig.  3). 
Drawing  the  face  of  the  watch,  and  cutting  and  [fast- 
ing the  paper  links  for  the  chain  is  good  desk  work. 
The  whole  exercise  is  fine  to  teach  division  of  time 
and  how  to  tell  time.  There  are  many  little  rhymes 
which  may  be  used  with  such  lessons. 

“Sixty  seconds  make  a minute 
How  much  good  can  I do  in  it  ? 

Sixty  minutes  make  an  hour 

I'll  do  all  the  good  that’s  in  my  power.” 

The  children  may  reproduce  the  schoolroom  clock 
in  freehand  cutting. 

“There’s  a neat  little  clock, 

On  a high  shelf  it  stands 
And  it  points  to  the  time 
With  its  two  little  hands. 

May  we  like  the  clock 
Keep  a face  true  and  bright 
And  hands  ever  ready 
To  do  what  is  right.” 
or 

“When  our  clock  strikes  I always  dread 
To  look,  for  fear  it's  time  for  bed. 

And  when  we  leave  our  play  to  see 
It  seems  to  smile  and  wink  at  me. 


2 


My  mother  says,  and  she  knows  best, 
That  children  must  lie  down  to  rest. 
Yet  our  old  clock  stands  in  the  hall 
And  never  goes  to  sleep  at  all. 


106 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


Oh!  Wouldn’t  it  be  lots  of  fun 
If  we  could  be  wound  up  to  run, 

And  never  had  to  stop  our  play 
Nor  lose  a minute  all  the  day? 

I love  our  old  clock  when  I’m  sick, 

I listen  to  its  tick-tack-tick. 

And  in  the  dark  it  says  to  me, 

“I  go  to  keep  you  company.” 

— Youth’s  Companion. 


5 


Freehand  paper-cutting  is  commonly  done  in  three 
ways — from  dictation,  from  objects  or  pictures  and 
from  imagination.  The  dictation  exercises  develop 
power  of  true  and  quick  observation  and  are  excellent 
for  stimulating  attention.  The  cutting  from  objects 
or  pictures  develops  feeling  for  proportions  and  masses, 
and  the  imaginative  or  illustrative  cutting  trains  the 
same  powers  that  are  exercised  in  illustrative 
drawing. 

To  present  such  a lesson  well,  the  teacher  should 
plan  the  steps  carefully  before  dictating  to  the  children, 
so  that  each  step  may  be  clear  in  her  own  mind.  Say 
you  plan  to  cut  out  a boat  in  connection  with  some 
language  lesson  relating  to  the  Pilgrims.  Each  child 
is  given  a small  square  of  paper  while  you  use  a large 
square.  After  telling  the  children  to  watch  very  care- 
fully what  you  do,  you  make  the  first  cut  (See  dark 
line,  Fig.  4).  The  children  cut  their  squares  in  the 
same  way,  laying  their  scissors  down  after  each  oper- 
ation, for,  if  allowed  to  hold  them,  their  attention  is 
diverted.  Fig.  5 shows  the  next  cut,  the  children  try- 


WAYS 

OF 

WORKING 


CUTTING 

FROM 

DICTA- 

TION 


CUTTING  FROM  PAPER 


107 


ing  meantime  to  guess  what  they  are  making.  The 
cut  in  Fig.  6 must  be  very  carefully  made  so  that  the 
mast  and  sail  shall  not  be  detached  from  the  boat. 
When  the  step  shown  by  Fig.  7 is  reached,  the  children 
will  know  beyond  question  what  they  are  making. 
Figures  8 and  9 show  the  completion  of  the  cutting, 
and,  if  time  remains,  smaller  boats  may  be  cut  from 
the  oblong-  which  was  left  after  cutting  as  in  Fig.  5. 
Any  other  simple  boat  form  may  be  dictated  as  easily 
as  this.  If  the  teacher  wishes  to  increase  the  chil- 
dren’s pleasure  in  this  exercise,  she  may  step  to  the 
chalkboard  and  with  a few  strokes  of  the  crayon 
laid  sidewise  indicate  a sweep  of  river  or  sea,  and 
upon  this  background  mount  a few  of  the  best  boats 
(Fig.  13),,  using  a mere  touch  of  paste.  In  mounting 
the  boats,  lead  the  children  to  discover  that  the  plac- 
ing of  the  large  and  small  boats  may  be  made  to  tell 
the  story  of  nearness  and  farness.  If  two  tones  of 
paper  are  available,  the  children  may  make  pretty 
little  posters  to  use  in  decorating  Pilgrim  books  or 
Christmas  calendars.  Much  variety  may  result  from 
varying  the  shape  of  the  oblong,  the  location  of  the 
horizon  line  and  the  position  of  the  boat  or  boats. 
This  may  also  be  made  a lesson  in  the  simple  prin- 
ciples of  composition,  for  even  primary  children  may 
be  taught  to  see  that  if  the  boat  is  placed  exactly  in 
the  middle  of  the  space,  and  the  skyline  cuts  the 
picture  into  two  equal  parts  (Fig.  10),  the  picture  is 
not  as  pleasing  as  with  the  arrangement  shown  in 
Figs.  11  and  12. 


13 


16 


108  TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


S H 

M 

Igf 

pill 

HI 


THE  PAPER  SHIP 

Last  night  I sailed  in  my  paper  ship, 

I sailed  away  and  away; 

And  never  did  sailor  sail  so  far, 

And  never  was  sail  so  gay; 

I sailed  away  to  an  unknown  land, 

Away,  on  an  unknown  sea, 

W1  lere  all  the  people  were  dolls,  my  dear. 
And  all  of  them  talked  to  me. 


Another  good  dictation  exercise  is  the  cutting  of 
the  key  as  shown  in  Figs.  14  to  18.  After  cutting  the 
key  from  dictation,  the  children  may  like  to  cut  key 
rings,  cutting  keys  of  various  kinds  and  putting  them 
on  the  key  rings. 

The  teacher  should  encourage  the  children  to  give 
reasons  why  all  keys  are  not  made  alike,  why  they 
have  holes  in  the  top,  and  why  the  top  is  rounded 
instead  of  sharp-cornered.  There  are  many  pretty 
poems  and  songs  relating  to  keys  which  may  be  used 
in  connection  with  this  lesson.  Two  such  are  reprinted 
below. 


I know  of  a jewelled  castle. 

Where  is  hidden  a golden  key, 

That  opens  the  door  of  the  castle  fair 
Called  the  “Castle  of  Courtesy.” 


Its  owner  a bright-eyed  maiden 

Who  wakes  with  the  morning  light, 
Takes  out  the  key  from  its  hiding  place. 
And  bears  it  around  ’till  night. 


18 


CUTTING  FROM  PAPER 


109 


She  opens  the  door  of  the  castle 
With  her  beautiful  golden  key 
And  smiles  a welcome  to  all  who  come, 
Even  strangers  like  you  and  me. 


And  to  every  door  of  the  castle 
She  fits  her  golden  key; 

Wide  open  it  flies  at  her  magic  touch, 
That  all  may  its  treasures  see. 

The  heart  is  the  golden  castle; 

And  kindness,  the  golden  key, 

That  opens  the  door  of  the  castle, 
Called  the  “Castle  of  Courtesy.” 


A bunch  of  golden  keys  is  mine 
To  make  each  day  with  gladness  shine. 
“Good  Morning!”  That’s  the  golden  key 
That  unlocks  every  day  for  me. 

When  friends  give  anything  to  me, 

I use  the  little  “Thankyou”  Key. 

When  at  the  table,  “If  you  please,” 

I take  from  off  my  bunch  of  keys. 

And  when  the  evening  comes  to  me, 

I use  the  little  “Good  Night”  Key.” 


CUTTING 

FROM 

OBJECTS 

OR 

PICTURES 


After  learning  from  the  dictation  exercises  and  the 
circle-cutting  practice  to  handle  their  materials  and 
that  their  scissors  may  be  made  to  show  the  shape  of 
things,  the  children  may  begin  cutting  from  objects. 
In  this  work  the  teacher  should  try  to  get  the  children 
to  tell  the  truth  about  proportions.  The  first  objects 
should  be  simple  in  form.  Vase  forms  are  good.  Use 
two  when  possible,  differing  in  proportions  and  shape 
(Figs.  19  and  20).  A couple  of  contrasting  pitchers 
might  be  quite  different  in  size  as  well  as  in  shape. 


20 


ilO 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


This  would  make  another  interesting  exercise  in  cut- 
ting. Other  suggestions  are  given  in  the  marginal 
drawings  (Figs.  21  to  29).  The  same  care  should  be 
used  in  placing  objects  for  cutting  as  for  a drawing 
or  painting  lesson. 

If  potted  plants  are  used  as  objects  for  cutting 
lessons  (Fig.  28),  those  showing  only  a few  leaves 
should  be  chosen.  Of  course  the  subject  chosen  for 
a paper-cutting  lesson  should  be  “seasonable.”  The 
garden  implements  are  fine  for  spring,  the  umbrella 
for  April  days,  and  such  things  as  sleds  or  snow  shoes 
are  good  for  winter.  Fig.  30  shows  the  cutting  of  a 
sled  while  Fig.  31  shows  how  it  appears  when  creased 
and  bent. 

Cutting  from  a pose  is  often  practiced,  in  which 
case  the  subjects  chosen  should  be  such  as  are  suit- 
able for  brush  and  ink  silhouettes.  Some  toys  are 
fine  for  cutting-lessons.  Among  the  best  are  toy 
steamboats,  sailboats,  street  cars,  fire  engines,  trains,  etc. 
The  accompanying  reproduction  (Fig.  31)  shows  how  the 
cutting  of  engines  and  cars  from  toys  or  pictures  may 
be  made  the  nucleus  for  a decidedly  interesting  series 
of  lessons  which  may  be  mounted  in  poster  form, 
much  to  the  delight  of  the  children.  The  ones  shown 
here  were  done  by  Normal  students,  but  the  author 
has  frequently  tried  such  lessons  with  primary  chil- 
dren and  found  them  very  stimulating  to  the  interest, 
observation,  and  memory  as  well  as  to  the  imagination. 
Much  originality  is  developed  in  the  course  of  such 
lessons.  Each  large  poster  should  be  a piece  of  com- 


CUTTING  FROM  PAPER 


111 


munity  work  and  it  is  well  to  let  as  many  children 
as  possible  participate  rather  than  the  few  talented 
children  who  are  always  in  evidence.  Animals  may 
be  cut  from  toys  or  from  pictures,  and  wonderful 
menageries,  circus  parades,  and  Noah’s  arks  come 
from  the  hands  of  the  children.  The  illustrations  on 
Page  103  show  some  of  the  best  efforts  of  the  chil- 
dren in  one  room  as  mounted  in  poster  form  by  their 
teacher.  Long  strips  of  ingrain  wall  paper  were  used 
for  the  mounting,  and  gave  an  impression  of  great 
length  to  the  parade  as  it  hung  on  the  schoolroom 
wall.  A real  circus  or  parade  in  town  has  inspired 
many  a fine  lesson  of  this  kind. 

THE  MENAGERIE 
Rum,  dum,  dum, 

See,  the  show  has  come! 

With  a lion  and  a camel, 

Rears  as  tame  as  any  spaniel. 

Ru  m-a-d  um-a-dum, 

See,  the  show  has  come! 

Rub,  dub,  dub, 

There’s  the  tiger’s  cub. 

How  the  monkeys  climb  and  chatter! 

Hear  the  big  drum  clatter,  clatter! 
Rub-a-dub-a-dub, 

There’s  the  tiger’s  cub. 


Run,  run,  run, 

Quick  and  see  the  fun! 

Little  ponies  gaily  prancing, 

Rig  old  elephant  a-dancing. 

Run  and  run  and  run 
Quick  and  see  the  fun. 

- — Nina  Clarke  Parsons. 


A#8 

40 


29 


31 


112 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


One  teacher  we  know  constructed  a Noah’s  ark 
from  cardboard  in  something  the  same  manner  as  the 
little  houses  are  made  by  the  children  (SeePage  117), 
and  in  this  ark  were  kept  all  of  the  best  animal  cut- 
tings made  by  the  children  until  taken  out  for  mount- 
ing- 

The  Noah's  Ark’s  a pleasant  place. 

With  windows  on  each  side, 

And  half  the  painted  shingle  roof 
Is  hinged  and  opens  wide. 

And  often  Noah  and  his  wife 
In  dresses  green  and  blue, 

Take  out  the  animals  to  walk. 

In  rows  of  two  and  two. 

— K.  Pyle. 

Another  teacher  with  an  original  turn  of  mind 
utilized  the  passing  of  a hand-organ  man  and  his 
monkey  as  material  for  a freehand  cutting  lesson 
(Fig.  32) , using  the  lines  of  Robert  Louis  Stevenson 
to  accompany  it. 

“Have  you  seen  the  organ  grinder  with  a monkey  on 
a string  ? 

He  stands  upon  the  sidewalk  and  makes  the  music 
ring. 

And  all  the  little  children  around  him  dance  and  play, 
And  have  a very  merry  time  before  he  goes  away.” 

In  mounting  these  cuttings,  each  child  was  allowed 
to  use  a bit  of  cord  to  fasten  the  monkey  to  the  organ, 
and  this  touch  of  realism  was  highly  delightful  to  the 
pupils.  The  idea  was  fine,  but  the  cuttings  of  the 
children  could  probably  have  been  made  more  “alive” 


32 


33 


CUTTING  FROM  PAPER 


113 


by  means  of  action  poses  in  connection  with  the  lesson 
(Fig.  33). 

cutting  Many  teachers  require  children  to  cut  from  imagina- 
imagu  tion  without  any  previous  training.  It  is  much  better 
nation  }eaf[  Up  t0  this  by  means  of  some  dictation  and 
object  cutting.  When  the  children  have  done  some 
such  exercises  as  those  described  in  the  foregoing- 
paragraphs,  they  may  begin  telling  their  stories  from 
imagination  with  scissors  and  paper  in  very  much 
the  same  manner  as  with  brush  or  pencil.  The  sug- 
gestions given  in  the  Chapter  on  Drawing  from 
Imagination  are  almost  as  applicable  to  cutting  from 
imagination. 

cutting  Paper  cutting  cannot  be  profitably  practiced  for 

FOR  ' 

busy  desk  work  until  the  children  have  had  quite  a number 
work  0f  carefully  planned  and  carefully  directed  lessons. 
To  start  the  children  the  first  day  of  school  by  giving 
them  scissors  and  paper  and  the  simple  direction  “Cut 
anything  you  like”  results  too  often  only  in  littering 
of  floor  and  desks,  and  waste  of  material.  Worse 
than  this,  it  gives  children  the  impression'  that  so  long 
as  they  are  cutting,  although  they  do  this  with  no 
definite  purpose,  it  is  satisfactory  to  the  teacher. 
When  children  have  once  grasped  the  fact  that  they 
can  tell  the  truth  about  things  with  their  scissors, 
the  cutting  becomes  a profitable  kind  of  busy  work. 
We  once  observed  such  work  in  a school  located  near 
a vacant  lot  which  was  fairly  twinkling  with  daisies. 
Each  child  had  a daisy  on  his  desk,  and  with  scissors 
and  crayon  was  making  pictures  of  “Grandma  Daisy” 


34 


114 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


(Fig.  35).  lie  cut  the  petals  from  white  paper  and 
drew  the  stem  and  yellow  centers  on  the  gray  paper 
with  colored  crayon,  lie  added  a few  lines  to  show 
Grandma’s  face  — not  forgetting  her  eyeglasses. 
Although  it  was  a warm,  lazy  day  in  May  when  more 
serious  “busy  work”  would  have  been  almost  impos- 
sible, every  child  was  occupied  and  happy.  The 
verses  used  by  this  teacher  are  given  below: 

“Here  comes  Grandma  Daisy 
In  her  cap  of  white 
With  her  bow  so  dainty 
And  her  face  so  bright. 


Sleepy  Grandma  Daisy 
Wished  to  take  a nap, 
Laid  her  head  down  softly 
Lest  she  spoil  her  cap. 


Then  a breeze  so  naughty 
Snatched  her  cap  away, 
Poor  old  Grandma  Daisy 
Who  will  tell  her,  pray  ?” 


Here  is  another  verse  which  would  be  equally 
suitable. 

“The  daisies  white  are  nursery  maids, 

With  frills  upon  their  caps; 

And  daisy  buds  are  little  babes 
They  tend  upon  their  laps. 

Sing  “Heigh-ho!”  while  the  wind  sweeps  low, 
Both  nurses  and  babies  are  nodding — just  so.” 

— Selected. 


X.  SPECIAL  DAYS 


THANKS- 

GIVING 


Most  teachers  are  on  the  alert  for  suggestions 
relating  to  drawing  and  making  for  special  days  and 
seasons,  and  the  following  may  add  something  to  the 
teacher’s  resources  for  these  occasions.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  say  that  each  teacher  will  probably  wish 
to  choose  those  exercises  which  seem  best  adapted  to 
her  particular  schoolroom  conditions,  and  which  are 
most  in  keeping  with  her  general  plan  of  work. 

The  first  special  day  in  the  school  year  is  Thanks- 
giving, and  much  of  the  children’s  work  at  this  time, 
including  the  drawing  and  making,  may  well  be  made 
to  center  around  the  Thanksgiving  thought  which  is 
suggestive,  among  other  things,  of  Colonial  life,  Indians, 
etc.  The  little  rhyme  given  below  is  a great  favorite 
with  the  children: 

SIX  LITTLE  TURKEYS 

I. 

Six  little  turkeys,  all  in  a row! 

Now  what  they  were  hatched  for,  they  didn’t  know. 
Our  grandma  did,  but  she  wouldn’t  tell. 

She  watered  and  fed  them  every  day  well, 

But  not  one  of  the  six  ever  heard  her  say 
She  was  fattening  them  for  Thanksgiving  day. 

II. 

Six  little  turkeys!  From  morning  till  night 
They  would  run  away  and  hide  out  of  sight. 

115 


116 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


Grandma’s  sunbonnet  scarcely  at  all, 

Found  time  to  hang  on  its  peg  on  the  wall, 

For  they  kept  her  all  summer,  watching  about 
The  byways  and  hedges,  calling  them  out. 

III. 

Six  large,  fat  turkeys  and  all  in  a row 
On  Thanksgiving  morn!  One  was  to  go 
To  Sam,  one  to  Tim,  another  to  Lu, 

And  one  dear  grandma,  of  course  was  for  you ; 

One  was  to  be  sent  to  poor  widow  Gray 
With  six  helpless  children  to  feed  that  day. 

IV. 

Our  Betty  cooked  one  for  lame  little  Joe, 

IS  is  mother  is  sick  and  feeble,  you  know. 

Grandma  was  so  happy,  she  didn't  mind 
Running  all  day  the  turkeys  to  find. 

She  knew  that  when  Thanksgiving  day  came  around 
The  very  best  place  for  each  would  be  found. 


There  are  Thanksgiving  poses,  too,  in  which  a 
few  simple  devices  serve  to  make  a Puritan  lad  (Fig. 
1)  or  lass  (Fig.  2)  out  of  a Twentieth  Century  boy 
or  girl.  By  cutting  from  heavy  manila  paper  a large 
circle  like  Fig.  3 for  a crown  and  pasting  the  crown  (Fig. 
4)  to  the  brim  by  means  of  the  laps,  a Puritan  hat  may 
easily  be  devised.  A paper  collar  and  large  paper 
buckles  greatly  enhance  the  effect  in  the  eyes  of  the 
children,  while  a toy  gun  and  a mackintosh  cape  add 
the  finishing  touches.  The  girl  may  be  given  a hood, 
an  apron,  a square  cloth  folded  for  a kerchief  and 
her  older  sister’s  skirt,  which  makes  a regular  little 
woman  of  her,  while  the  knitting  in  her  hand  com- 
pletes the  domestic  effect. 


3 


SPECIAL  DAYS 


117 


For  the  painting  work  there  is  the  much  used 
pumpkin  and  other  vegetables  equally  good,  such  as 
carrots  and  turnips.  The  children  usually  paint  mere 
round  daubs  of  orange  to  represent  the  pumpkin,  and 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  them  to  put  any  indi- 
viduality into  it,  making  it  tall,  thin,  or  “roly  poly” 
according  to  its  character.  It  is  quite  evident  that 
all  pumpkins  look  alike  to  the  boys  and  girls  of  the 
lower  grades. 

In  the  constructive  work  there  is  the  Puritan  cradle 
(See  Page  88)  or  the  pilgrim  house  made  of  bogus 
paper  (Fig.  5).  To  make  the  house,  fold  a square  of 
paper  in  the  way  usually  designated  as  the  “sixteen 
square  fold,”  and  described  in  the  Chapter  on  Making 
and  Decorating.  Then  cut  on  the  creases  indicated 
by  the  heavy  lines  in  Fig.  6.  The  dotted  line  indi- 
cates the  ridge  of  the  roof,  and  when  the  children 
fold  on  this  line  they  soon  discover  how  to  paste  the 
laps  under  so  as  to  form  a house.  The  cutting 
of  tiny  doors  and  windows  makes  the  effect  quite 
realistic. 

We  know  a clever  teacher  who  utilized  her  sand- 
table  for  a Thanksgiving  scene  which  was  a source 
of  much  pleasure  to  the  children.  The  thought  was 
the  bounty  of  autumn.  From  a square  of  heavy  dark 
red  paper  she  folded  and  cut  a large  barn  in  the 
same  way  the  children’s  houses  are  made.  The 
children  made  diminutive  corn  shocks  of  raffia,  and 
modeled  little  pumpkins.  From  dry  twigs  or  small 
branches,  trees  were  made,  and  from  their  limbs 


5 


6 


118 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


cranberries  were  hung  to  represent  apples.  The 
crowning  feature  of  the  exercise  was  the  farmer 
and  his  family  modeled  in  clay  and  wheeling  loads  of 
apples  or  pumpkins  in  wheelbarrows  made  of  bogus 
paper.  Every  child  made  a clay  figure  and  a wheel- 
barrow and  the  best  ones  were  used  in  the  scene. 
The  whole  arrangement  was  a fine  bit  of  community 
work. 

We  have  also  seen  doll  furniture  made  by 
pupils  from  wood  and  raffia  in  representation  of  the 
high-backed  settles  and  rush  cradles  of  the  olden 
time  (Figs.  8 and  9).  Long  slender  nails  were 
driven  into  the  wood  and  over  these  nails  the  raffia 
was  woven.  While  this  was  interesting  and  the  mak- 
ing must  have  given  joy  to  the  children,  such  work 
does  not  seem  practicable  for  use  as  a class  exercise 
to  be  carried  out  under  ordinary  schoolroom  conditions. 
Possibly  in  some  school  where  access  could  be  had 
to  the  Manual  Training  room  this  lesson  might  be 
worked  out  very  profitably.  The  braiding  of  raffia 
for  the  brim  of  the  old-fashioned  sunbonnet  for  the 
dolls,  and  the  making  of  the  sunbonnet  were  part  of 
the  work  of  the  children  in  another  school  (Fig.  7). 

As  has  been  said  before,  there  is  no  material  better 
suited  for  making  work  in  the  lower  grades  under 
present  conditions  than  bogus  or  construction  paper. 
Along  the  line  of  design  are  the  booklets  which  are 
made  by  folding  a sheet  of  construction  paper  for  the 
cover,  and  a sheet  of  writing  paper  for  the  quotation 
inside — a quotation  appropriate  for  Thanksgiving  Day. 


8 


9 


SPECIAL  DAYS 


119 


The  children  may  decorate  their  booklets  with  borders 
made  of  brush  strokes.  If  printing  is  used  on  the 
cover,  the  teacher  should  print  the  title  very  carefully 
on  the  chalkboard  for  the  children  to  copy.  In  some 
places  printed  alphabets  are  supplied  for  this  pur- 
pose. Every  letter  should  be  a capital. 

Very  pretty  units  for  brush  stroke  designs  are  made 
by  using  the  cranberry  as  a motive.  Cut  the  berries  open 
crosswise,  placing  a section  on  each  child’s  desk.  The 
design  which  nature  has  made  in  the  heart  of  the  berry 
furnishes  delightful  suggestions  for  the  borders  or  sur- 
face coverings  used  on  the  booklets.  Fig.  10  shows 
two  units  from  the  cranberry  motive,  and  Figs.  11, 
12  and  13  suggest  ways  in  which  such  units  may 
be  used.  Figs.  14,  15,  16,'  and  17  show  conventional 
designs  as  worked  out  by  Second  Grade  children  for 
use  as  booklet  covers.  These  were  done  on  brown 
construction  paper,  the  designs  being  painted  in 
deeper  brown,  dark  green,  or  dark  brownish  red. 
They  were  done  by  marking  the  paper  off  in  quarter- 
inch  squares  as  shown  and  described  on  Page  92,  the 
designs  being  worked  in  over  the  guide  lines  thus 
formed.  In  one  of  these  covers  (Fig.  16)  the  writer 
has  darkened  the  child’s  guide  lines  so  as  to  make 
clear  the  way  in  which  he  worked.  The  children 
should  be  taught  to  draw  the  guide  lines  very  faintly, 
so  that  after  the  book  cover  is  completed,  a few  strokes 
of  a large  kneaded  rubber  or  art  gum  will  remove  all 
trace  of  pencil  marks.  The  marginal  lines  are  the 
same  throughout  the  entire  set  and  were  doubtless 


11 


13 


120 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


dictated  by  the  teacher  so  as  to  leave  a uniform  margin 
on  the  cover  for  the  child's  original  work. 

Idle  Thanksgiving  days  are  hardly  over  when 
Christmas  comes  on  apace  and  suggests  another  line 
of  form  work  based  upon  the  Santa  Claus  and  Christ- 
mas tree  stories.  Here  is  one  charming  poem  which 
may  be  used  in  connection  with  these  lessons: 


A HAPPY  TREE 


BY  CARA  W.  BRONSON. 

“Oh,  look  at  me!” 

Sang  the  Christmas  tree, — 

A jolly  young  evergreen, — 

“I'm  dressed  up  here 
For  a show,  that’s  clear, 

And  I’m  anxious  to  be  seen. 

To  grow  in  a wood 
Is  very  good, — 

Of  air  you’ve  a trifle  more,— 

But  I declare 
It  cannot  compare 
To  a block  on  the  parlor  floor! 
You  may  stand  in  the  cold 
Till  a century  old. 

Not  a blossom  to  speak  of  comes; 
But  here  in  an  hour 
I’m  all  in  flower 

With  mittens  and  dolls  and  drums. 
I know  so  well — 

And  daren't  to  tell — 

So  much  that  I’m  like  to  burst; 
There’s  a mystery  hung 
Or  a secret  swung 
On  each  branch  from  last  to  first. 
How  I'd  love  to  shout 
All  my  feelings  out! 

But  I daren’t  to  even  cough; 


CHRIST- 

MAS 


16 


SPECIAL  DAYS 


121 


And  just  the  half 
Of  a great  big  laugh 
Would  shake  all  my  candles  off. 

So  I have  to  hide 
All  the  fun  inside, 

Till  I’m  full  as  I can  be, 

Wh  atever  folks  say, 

I'm  King  of  the  Day!” 

Sang  the  jolly  Christmas  tree. 

— Youth's  Companion. 

If  holly  is  used  for  any  of  the  painting  lessons, 
have  only  a few  leaves  on  each  twig  and  plenty  of 
berries.  In  this  connection  the  following  verse  will 
do  for  a Christmas  card  with  cheery  holly  decoration. 

“I'm  the  holly,  always  jolly 
For  the  Christmas  time. 

IVjly  bright  berries,  red  as  cherries 
Fear  no  frosty  rime.” 

If  holly  forms  are  used  for  the  decoration  of  book- 
lets, calendars,  or  picture  frames,  they  should  be 
worked  into  conventional  borders,  surface  coverings, 
etc.  If  conditions  permit  children  to  make  their 
arrangements  with  real  holly  leaves  and  berries  before 
painting  their  designs,  it  will  be  found  that  this  helps 
them  often  to  work  out  quite  original  ideas  in  pleasing 
form.  It  is  also  suggested  that  the  teacher  cut  from 
stiff  paper  a number  of  large  leaves  and  berries  and 
long  border  strips,  having  pupils  come  to  the  front 
of  the  room  and  arrange  the  units  and  strips,  accord- 
ing to  their  judgment  of  pleasing  effects,  on  a large  sheet 
of  paper  fastened  to  the  chalkboard.  This  can  be 
done  by  using  thumb  tacks,  paste,  or  pins  (See  Figs. 


20 


21 


122 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


19,  20,  and  21).  The  suggestions  in  the  Chapter  on 
Painting  and  Color  for  stained  glass  effects  in 
booklet  decoration  may  be  helpful  in  this  connection. 

W e have  mentioned  booklets,  Christmas  cards, 
picture  frames,  and  calendars  because  they  not  only 
have  value  as  a schoolroom  exercise,  but  after  beinor 
made  and  decorated  may  be  used  as  gifts  by  the  chil- 
dren. Figs.  22,  23,  and  24  are  reproduced  from  chil- 
dren's work.  Fig.  22  was  done  by  a First  Grade 
pupil.  It  is  a very  simple  little  landscape  in  brown 
crayon  which,  together  with  the  calendar  has  been 
mounted  on  a sheet  of  brown  paper  and  this  in  turn 
, on  another  sheet  of  darker  brown.  The  effect  is  very 
pleasing  and  not  beyond  the  possibilities  of  any  First 
Grade  room. 

The  other  calendars  are  from  Second  Grade 
rooms.  The  colored  paper  was  folded  over  light 
weight  strawboard  to  make  a firm  background  for 
the  calendar.  In  No.  23  a simple  surface  design  is 
used  for  the  decoration,  while  the  design  for  No.  24 
was  doubtless  obtained  by  cutting  such  a stencil  as 
is  described  on  Page  91  of  this  book.  Pen  wipers, 
match  scratchers,  needle  books,  spectacle  wipers,  and 
blotter  pads  are  not  too  difficult  for  the  children  to 
make.  The  sketches  given  herewith  may  suggest 
some  other  article  which  the  children  may  make 
(Figs.  25,  26,  and  27).  The  triangular  book  marker 
(Fig.  27)  is  simply  the  corner  of  an  envelope  cut 
off  and  decorated  with  a brush  stroke  border.  It 


24 


SPECIAL  DAYS 


123 


Useful  hat  brushes  made  of  raffia  are  among  the 
things  not  too  difficult  for  primary  children  to  make 
(Fig.  28).  The  little  basket-like  box  (Fig.  29)  was 
selected  from  a class  exercise  in  a Second  Grade.  It 
is  made  of  bogus  paper  and  tied  with  ordinary  linen 
twine  so  that  the  cost  is  virtually  nothing.  The  mak- 
ing of  these  boxes  will  probably  consume  three  or 
four  lessons  in  construction  and  design.  The  draw- 
ing of  the  pattern  on  bogus  paper  from  the  teacher’s 
dictation  should  cover  two  lessons.  The  children 
should  use  rulers  for  this.  Decorating  the  sides  of 
the  box  will  take  one  lesson.  This  should  be  done 
before  the  box  is  cut  and  pasted.  The  fourth  lesson 
should  be  given  to  cutting,  pasting,  and  tying.  Fig. 
30  shows  how  the  pattern  looks  before  it  is  pasted. 
The  fine  lines  show  where  folds  are  to  be  made. 
The  boxes  make  good  candy  holders  for  the  Christ- 
mas tree  or  they  may  be  used  for  “catch-alls”  on  a 
dresser  or  desk. 

If  the  Thanksgiving  and  Christmas  special  work 
has  not  included  the  making  of  a card  or  booklet, 
the  first  lesson  of  the  New  Year  may  include  the 
making  of  a New  Year’s  card.  Here  is  a pretty  senti- 
ment and  not  too  long  for  the  children  to  write: 

“If  1 may  wish  a wish  for  you 
I'll  wish  that  your  every  wish  comes  true.” 

valen-  Between  New  Year  and  Valentine  Day  comes 
day  Mu^e  a period  of  time  without  a red-letter  day  to 
mark  it,  but  on  the  approach  of  the  latter  the  “Special 


NEW 

YEAR 


31 


32 


124 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


Day”  interest  of  the  children  revives.  As  a prepara- 
tion and  to  create  interest  for  the  occasion,  they  should 
be  told  about  the  good  Bishop  Valentine  w^io  lived 
long  ago  in  the  city  of  Rome,  and  who,  because  he  was 
so  gentle  and  loving  was  called  St.  Valentine.  They 
should  be  told  how  he  went  about  the  country,  loved 
by  all  the  people  until  he  became  too  old  to  visit 
and  minister  to  them,  when  to  show  he  still  remem- 
bered them  he  sent  them  loving  messages  on  his 
birthday. 

Explain  that  loving  messages  sent  out  by  St.  Val- 
entine on  his  birthday  were  the  beginning  of  our 
Valentine  Day  which  we  celebrate  on  the  Fourteenth 
of  February  by  sending  out  other  loving  messages. 

If  you  chance  to  have  a newsboy  in  your  room, 
let  him  play  postman  and  pose  for  the  children  with 
a bag  supposed  to  be  full  of  valentines. 

“I  hear  the  sound  of  the  Postman’s  feet 

As  he  quickly  walks  along  the  street. 

His  hand  is  full — his  letter  bag,  too; 

There  may  be  a letter  for  me  or  for  you. 

Ting-a-ling  ting-a-ling. 

There  is  nothing  so  jolly  as  the  Postman’s  ring.” 


A b 

X/ 


X 


The  making  of  valentines  may  be  carried  on  as 
another  exercise  in  design,  the  booklets  being  made 
and  decorated  with  the  same  regard  for  the  special 
occasion  as  in  the  case  of  the  Christmas  and  Thanks- 
giving: work.  If  hearts  are  used  in  the  decoration  of 

o o 

these  booklets,  let  them  be  in  the  form  of  units  for 
conventional  borders  or  surface  coverings  (Figs.  31 


B 


3 

LET  Be  a little  , 
LINK  IN  FR'£NT)SHIP& 
CHAIN. 


37 


SPECIAL  DAYS 


125 


and  32),  rather  than  the  pierced  and  gory  hearts 
which  one  sometimes  sees.  Figs.  33  and  34  show 
valentines  made  along  purely  conventional  lines  by 
the  children. 

If  one  feels  that  the  occasion  demands  something 
more  frivolous,  there  are  many  ideas  which  may  be 
worked  out  without  resorting  to  the  use  of  tinsel  or 
lace  paper.  For  instance,  let  the  children  cut  a heart 
for  a pattern.  Let  them  trace  several  hearts  on 
colored  paper  which  has  been  folded  as  in  Fig.  35, 
taking  care  to  leave  hinges  at  A and  IF  Let  them 
cut  out  the  inside  of  the  heart  so  as  to  leave  merely 
a margin.  They  will  now  have  a double  heart  (Fig. 
36)  which  opens  like  a little  book.  These  hearts  may 
be  interwoven  so  as  to  form  a chain  of  hearts  and 
tied  to  a card  on  which  the  child  may  write 


Let  me  add  another  link 

To  your  chain  of  hearts.  (Fig.  37). 


There  are  a couple  of  weaving  exercises  (Figs.  41 
and  42)  which  have  come  down  to  us  from  the  days 
of  our  grandmothers,  but  which  will  delight  the  chil- 
dren of  today  as  they  delighted  those  of  another  genera- 
tion. Figs.  38,  39,  and  40  show  the  way  in  which  the 
contrasting  strips  are  cut  and  crossed  in  order  to  weave 
the  heart-shaped  valentine  shown  in  Fig.  41.  Fig.  43 
shows  how  the  hearts  are  doubled  and  slashed  before 
weaving  the  valentine  shown  in  Fig.  42. 

For  Washington’s  Birthday  any  of  the  patriotic 
birthday  exercises  suggested  for  Decoration  Day  are  suitable. 


WASH- 

INGTON'S 


42 


43 


126 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


sm 

A ■ i 

swJ. 


»f,, 

mm- 
W 
■mrnmk 


46 


but  if  something  identified  especially  with  the  life 
of  Washington  is  desired,  there  is  much  material 
available. 

The  children  may  fold  Colonial  hats  (Fig.  46), 
decorating  with  a tissue  paper  cockade.  A large  one 
may  be  made  from  a newspaper  for  the  boy,  who, 
with  toy  sword,  impersonates  George  Washington  in 
a pose  lesson.  Instead  of  drawing  hatchets  and 
cherries  let  each  child  write  one  of  Washington’s  rules 

o 

.of  behavior,  decorating  his  card  with  some  such  device, 
painted  or  cut  from  red,  white,  and  blue  paper,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  47.  Such  emblems  as  this  may  be  made 
of  colored  paper  and  worn  as  “buttons”  on  patriotic 
days  much  to  the  joy  of  the  wearers. 

With  the  approach  of  Easter  such  a wealth  of  easter 
material  is  suggested  that  one  scarcely  knows  what  to 
choose.  As  on  other  special  occasions  a variety  of 
booklets  may  be  made.  Such  work  is  always  to  be 
commended,  related  as  it  is  to  the  regular  work  in 
making.  Figs.  44  and  45  are  reproduced  from  two 
such  booklets  made  by  Second  Grade  children.  Easter 
book-marks  are  decidedly  appropriate  for  this  season. 

The  paper  cutting  is  effective  for  such  little  poster 
effects  as  the  one  shown  in  Fig.  48.  Fig.  49  shows 
pussy  willows  drawn  in  pencil  and  mounted  on  gray 
paper.  Rabbits  and  chickens  may  be  drawn  or 
painted  in  the  regular  animal  lessons,  and  for  the  clay 
modeling’,  the  artificial  ones  so  common  in  the  stores 
at  this  season  serve  the  purpose  of  very  good  models. 

It  is  not  possible  to  model  little  chickens  with  clay 


47 


SPECIAL  DAYS 


127 


legs;  hence,  the  children  should  use  bits  of  toothpicks 
to  represent  legs.  The  chickens  may  be  made  to 
stand  by  sticking  the  wooden  legs  into  clay  tablets 
which  are  modeled  to  represent  the  ground.  The 
construction  work  may  include  the  making  of  chicken 
coops  of  bogus  or  other  stiff  paper  (Fig.  50),  and  the 
children  may  perhaps  model  the  mother  hen  sitting- 
on  her  eggs  in  the  coop.  There  is  also  the  butterfly 
cornucopia  which  the  children  delight  in  making  and 
which  is  pictured  in  color  on  Page  70.  The  directions 
for  making  are  as  follows:  Every  child  cuts  a square 
of  paper  diagonally  (Fig.  51).  Taking  one  of  the 
triangular  pieces  he  creases  it  as  shown  by  the  dotted 
line  in  Fig.  52.  He  next  folds  the  edges  over  to  meet 
this  crease  (Fig.  53),  after  which  he  lets  the  back  edges 
overlap  and  pastes  as  shown  in  Fig.  54.  He  then 
paints  and  pastes  his  butterfly  (Fig.  55),  following- 
some  such  plan  as  suggested  on  Page  79. 

April  Among  the  good  exercises  for  rainy  days  is  the 

Lion's  making  of  the  umbrella  here  pictured  (Fig.  56).  A 
pea  stick,  meat  skewer  or  any  other  smooth  round 
stick  may  be  used  for  the  handle.  Toothpicks  may 
be  used  for  the  ribs,  radiating  from  a cork  through 
which  the  handle  passes  and  over  which  the  raffia  may 
be  woven.  Large  beads  fastened  to  the  ends  of  the 
ribs  will  hold  the  raffia  in  place. 
may  May  Day  furnishes  another  opportunity  for  con- 
DAY  structive  work  and  the  little  baskets  shown  herewith 
(Figs.  57-63)  were  a May  Day  suggestion.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  how  one  child’s  idea  of  a May 


50 


51 


55 


56 


128 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


58 


basket  was  based  on  a laundry  basket — possibly  a 
well  known  article  in  his  home  life. 

The  children’s  tree  sketches  may  be  properly 
mounted  and  used  to  decorate  programs  or  souvenir 
cards,  to  be  presented  to  visiting  friends  or  parents 
of  the  children. 

For  Decoration  Day  there  is  much  material  in  the 
way  of  stories  for  illustrative  work,  and  patriotic  poses 
for  the  regular  drawing.  Ordinarily,  these  should  be 
preferred  to  the  painting  of  the  flag,  which,  beautiful 
as  it  is,  is  almost  too  difficult  for  small  children. 

The  following;  is  a good  exercise:  Dictate  a five- 

pointed  star,  or  for  the  First  Grade  pupils  furnish  a 
pattern  and  let  the  children  trace  and  cut  a star  from 
white  paper.  Let  each  child  pin  his  star  in  place  on 
the  field  of  blue  which  is  temporarily  hung  over  the 
stars  on  the  large  flag  at  tile  front  of  the  room. 

Once  more,  let  us  say  that  no  teacher  “could, 
would,  or  should”  attempt  to  have  her  children  do  all 
of  the  things  here  suggested.  For  the  most  part  the 
work  involved  in  the  Special  Day  exercises  should  be 
carried  on  in  the  regular  drawing  period  by  means 
of  the  lessons  covering  the  various  kinds  of  drawing, 
painting,  and  making.  An  occasional  variation,  how- 
ever, by  giving  a special  exercise  as  here  suggested, 
not  only  delights  the  children  but  stimulates  the 
interest  of  the  parents  in  the  drawing  work. 


ARBOR 

DAY 


DECORA- 

TION 

DAY 


61 


62 


XI.  CARE  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF  MATERIALS 


WATER 

COLORS 

SCHOOL 

PROPERTY 


Although  this  chapter  has  been  placed  at  the  end  of 
the  book,  it  is  not  least  in  importance,  for  upon  the 
proper  care  and  distribution  of  materials  depends  largely 
the  success  of  the  drawing  work.  A teacher  who  con- 
cerns herself  only  with  the  presentation  of  the  lesson, 
ignoring  other  matters,  will  find  it  difficult  to  get  good 
results  when  handling  large  classes  of  children.  That 
teacher  who  is  resourceful  and  systematic  devises  a 
score  of  ways  to  interest  her  children  in  keeping 
their  paint  boxes  clean  and  in  good  condition, 
realizing  that  the  habit  of  neatness  which  she  is  trying 
to  develop  will  prove  a valuable  asset  to  all  even 
though  some  do  not  show  much  skill  in  the  actual 
drawing  and  painting  lessons.  The  distribution  of 
the  material,  too,  which  is  attended  in  some  rooms 
with  wild  confusion,  may  be  systematized  until  “things 
move  like  clockwork,”  and  the  effect  upon  the  attitude 
of  the  children  during  the  lesson  and  upon  the  paint- 
ing itself  becomes  plainly  evident. 

Consider  a few  of  the  devices  which  have  been 
successfully  used  by  various  teachers,  remembering 
that  each  teacher  must  follow  the  method  best  adapted 
to  the  local  conditions  under  which  she  labors. 

In  the  majority  of  places  each  child  owns  his  paint 
box,  but  in  others  the  paints  are  the  property  of  the 

school  board,  and  are  passed  around  from  room  to 

129 


130 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


room,  one  set  of  boxes  being  used  in  turn  by  several 
rooms.  To  keep  the  boxes  in  good  condition  under 
these  circumstances  is  much  more  difficult  than  when 
each  child  owns  his  materials,  just  as  rented  houses 
become  shabby  much  more  rapidly  than  those  occupied 
by  their  owners.  In  one  schoolroom  where  the  color 
boxes  were  school  property,  the  following  was  observed: 
The  teacher  chose  from  each  row  one  boy  whose  neat- 
ness in  caring  for  the  paints  commended  him  to  her. 
Sometimes  she  chose  girls  and  called  them  house- 
keepers. It  was  the  duty  of  each  housekeeper  to 
inspect  the  boxes  in  her  row  when  they  were  ready 
for  collection  to  see  that  everything  was  in  fine  order. 
Whenever  a box  was  discovered  in  which  a cake  of 
red,  yellow,  or  blue  was  needed,  it  was  taken  to  the 
teacher  for  replenishing.  When  boys  were  chosen, 
they  were  called  storekeepers  and  they  took  great 
pride  in  seeing  that  their  “clerks”  were  taking  care 
of  the  stock.  The  “term  of  office”  expired  every 
month  and  then  others  were  chosen  by  the  teacher. 
In  other  towns  each  box  of  school  paints  is  numbered 
and  when  the  child  writes  his  name  on  his  painting, 
he  also  puts  down  the  number  of  the  box  which  he 
used.  In  this  way  any  untidy  box  may  be  traced 
back  to  the  one  who  last  used  it. 

It  is  more  satisfactory  for  each  child  to  own  his 
box  of  water  colors.  A paint  box,  properly  cared  for, 
should  last  several  years,  and  fresh  cakes  for  replenish- 
ing may  be  bought  when  necessary.  The  children 
from  homes  where  money  is  plentiful  buy  a new  box 


OWNER- 
SHIP OF 
BOXES 


CARE  OF  MATERIALS 


131 


PLACE 

FOR 

BOXES 


each  year,  and  they  may  be  encouraged  to  leave  their 
old  boxes  for  the  less  fortunate  children.  The  name 
of  each  child  should  be  written  on  a slip  of  paper 
and  pasted  on  the  top  of  his  box.  The  long  boxes 
containing  a brush  with  wooden  handle  are  the  best 
to  have,  but  if  the  short  ones  are  used  the  brushes 
may  be  kept  in  a tumbler,  points  upward,  and 
distributed  for  each  painting  lesson. 

Were  the  child’s  desk  large  enough,  all  of  his 
painting  materials  might  be  placed  in  a little  paste- 
board box  and  kept  in  his  desk.  In  some  of  the 
places  where  text-books  are  school  property  and 
are  collected  after  each  lesson,  the  desk  is  left 
comparatively  empty,  and  the  drawing  and  painting 
materials  are  kept  in  them.  These  materials  consist 
of  a box  of  water  colors,  a water  pan,  a paint  cloth, 
and  a soft  sketching  pencil.  This  simplifies  distribu- 
tion materially,  inasmuch  as  only  the  paper  and  the 
water  remain  to  be  passed.  Sometimes,  when  it  is 
not  possible  to  keep  these  pasteboard  boxes  in  the 
desks,  they  are  placed  on  a table  behind  a screen. 
When  a painting  lesson  is  given,  the  screen  is  removed 
and  the  children  march  to  the  front  of  the  room,  row 
by  row,  each  child  removing  his  box  in  order.  If 
his  neighbor  is  absent  from  school,  he  removes  his 
box  also,  placing  it  on  the  vacant  desk.  When 
this  plan  is  followed,  it  is  desirable  that  the  paste- 
board boxes  be  uniform  in  size  and  that  the  owners’ 
names  be  plainly  written  on  the  ends  of  them.  This 
is  a very  rapid  and  satisfactory  way  of  distributing 


132 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


the  materials,  as  each  child  knows  his  part  of  the 
procedure.  In  some  places  the  children  keep  their 
materials  in  bags  which  hang  from  the  desks,  but  this 
frequently  gives  rise  to  undue  noise  and  confusion. 
Another  way  is  to  have  a small  peach  basket  for 
each  row,  letting  the  monitor  of  each  row  attend 
to  the  distribution  and  collection  of  the  paints,  piling 
them  neatly  in  the  basket.  One  popular  time-saving 
device  is  to  give  the  painting  lesson  after  the  morning 
recess.  When  this  plan  is  followed,  the  teacher, 
assisted  by  the  monitors,  attends  to  the  distribution 
of  materials  during  recess,  and  all  is  in  readiness  for 
work  when  the  children  come  in. 

Children  may  use  old  cups,  tumblers,  etc.,  for  the 
water  but  this  motley  array  of  receptacles  is  extremely 
difficult  to  handle  in  a schoolroom,  and  the  water  pans 
which  are  made  for  the  purpose  are  better  in  every  way. 
They  take  up  little  room  when  put  away,  as  they 
may  be  stacked  one  within  the  other,  and  the  flatness  of 
the  base  does  away  with  much  of  the  danger  of  over- 
turning. When  each  child  owns  his  pan,  he  may  care 
for  it  with  his  paints,  or  the  monitor  may  collect  the 
pans  with  the  paint  boxes.  The  pans  should  be 
thoroughly  wiped  after  each  lesson. 

No  painting  lesson  should  be  attempted  unless 
each  child  has  a paint  cloth,  and  these  cloths  should  be 
as  large  as  a man’s  handkerchief  at  least.  They  should 
be  placed  on  the  desk  next  to  the  water  pan,  ready 
for  use  at  an  instant’s  need.  If  cloths  are  scarce,  have 
a “cloth  shower”  and  keep  those  so  accumulated  as  a 


WATER 

PANS 


PAINT 

CLOTHS 


CARE  OF  MATERIALS 


133 


PLACE 

FOR 

EVERY- 

THING 


CLEANING 

THE 

PAINTS 


PENCILS 


supply  for  the  children  who  are  not  provided  with 
them.  If,  however,  certain  children  accpiire  the  habit 
of  depending  too  much  upon  this  public  supply,  an 
occasional  lesson  in  which  they  are  not  allowed  to 
participate  serves  as  a prod  to  their  memories. 

When  ready  to  paint,  the  box  should  be  placed  on 
the  middle  of  the  back  of  the  desk,  opened  wide  with 
the  cover  turned  toward  the  pupil  for  greater  con- 
venience in  mixing  washes,  and  the  water  pan  should 
be  placed  at  the  right  of  the  box  and  touching  it. 
This  is  not  only  the  most  convenient  way,  but  the 
resulting  workman-like  appearance  of  the  desks  is  a 
stimulus  to  neat  work  by  the  children. 

Not  the  least  important  thing  in  color  work  is  the 
care  of  the  paints.  Teach  the  children  to  “wash 
the  faces”  of  their  paints  with  brush  and  water  after 
each  lesson,  to  make  the  brush  take  up  all  the  extra 
water  from  the  top  of  the  cakes  and  to  dry  the  brush 
on  the  paint  rag.  If  the  boxes  and  brushes  are  put 
away  in  bad  condition,  nothing  but  muddy  color  can 
result  in  the  next  lesson. 

The  soft  pencils  which  are  absolutely  necessary 
for  primary  drawing  break  easily  and  must  be  handled 
carefully  and  used  only  for  the  drawing  lessons.  If 
so  kept,  and  properly  sharpened  at  the  outset,  they 
are  not  difficult  to  keep  in  condition.  They  are 
usually  placed  in  cases,  being  arranged  in  order  so 
that  each  child  receives  his  own  pencil.  'These  cases 
may  be  made  of  cloth  with  tape  stitched  on  so  as  to 
hold  the  pencils  in  place,  or  with  narrow  pockets, 


134 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


or  they  may  be  made  by  punching  holes  in  the  cover 
of  a shoe  box  and  slipping  the  pencils  into  these  holes 
so  that  they  stand  with  points  upward.  This  latter 
way  has  an  advantage.  The  points  of  the  pencils  are 
exposed  more  plainly  to  view,  and  the  teacher  may 
readily  see  when  they  need  attention. 

Plenty  of  lead  should  be  left  exposed  when  sharpen- 
ing a pencil,  and  a piece  of  sandpaper  upon  which  to 
file  the  lead  to  a conical  point  is  a great  convenience. 
This  sandpaper  may  be  tacked  inside  of  the  lid  of  a 
cigar  box  kept  in  the  room  so  that  the  filings  will  fall 
into  the  box  when  the  lid  is  closed. 

Desk  boards,  almost  indispensable  in  much  of  the 
drawing  work,  may  be  placed  across  the  aisles  with 
ends  resting  on  the  desks  when  giving  a nature  or 
object  lesson.  Sometimes  these  boards  are  taken  from 
old  drygoods  boxes;  sometimes  they  are  neatly  made 
by  the  Manual  Training  boys,  and  sometimes  they 
are  the  light  boards  upon  which  cloth  in  drygoods 
stores  is  wound ; but  desk  boards  there  should  be, 
else  it  is  impossible  to  place  objects  quickly  and  satis- 
factorily. The  accompanying  diagram  (see  next  page) 
illustrates  how  these  boards  may  be  placed  so  that  all 
the  children  may  see  the  object,  and  the  teacher  may 
make  her  rounds  of  the  room  to  inspect  the  drawings. 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  children  on  the  front  seats 
draw  the  object  placed  on  the  teacher’s  desk. 

As  stated  in  the  Chapter  on  Cutting  from  Paper, 
the  scissors  used  in  paper  cutting  should  be  sharp- 
pointed  ones.  The  children  should  be  taught  how  to 


DESK 

BOARDS 


SCISSORS 


CARE  OF  MATERIALS 


135 


pass  these  to  one  another  properly,  that  is,  to  hold 
the  scissors  by  the  points  when  passing  them,  so  as 
to  present  the  handle  to  the  one  who  takes  them. 
This  is  not  for  politeness  alone,  but  is  a precaution 
against  accident. 


n □ 


□ □ □ □ 


X X 


If  the  scissors  are  furnished  to  pupils,  they 
should  be  kept  in  such  cases  as  are  described  for 
holding  pencils.  This  protects  the  scissors  from  dam- 
age and  makes  it  easy  to  see  if  any  are  missing 
after  a lesson. 


136 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


Paste  is  usually  purchased  in  bulk  and  furnished 
to  pupils.  Sometimes,  however,  the  children  are 
required  to  furnish  their  own  paste.  This  is  not  only 
unnecessarily  expensive,  but  the  childreil  often  buy 
an  inferior  kind  which  is  quite  worthless.  Besides, 
the  care  of  many  small  bottles  adds  another  burden 
to  the  teacher.  If  the  children  must  furnish  the  paste, 
let  each  child  bring  his  penny  or  pennies.  The  teacher 
may  make  a good  paste  according  to  the  following 
recipe:  Eight  ounces  of  wheat  flour,  one-fourth  of 

an  ounce  of  powdered  alum,  one  and  one-half  ounces 
of  glycerine,  one  dram  of  oil  of  wintergreen  and  one 
and  one-half  pints  of  water.  Mix  water,  flour,  and 
alum  to  a smooth  paste  and  boil  until  it  thickens, 
being  very  careful  not  to  burn  it  or  cook  it  too  much. 
Take  it  from  the  stove  and  add  oil  and  glycerine, 
mixing  thoroughly.  When  first  made,  it  is  a trifle  too 
thick  to  use  but  may  be  thinned  by  adding  a little 
water  when  needed  for  use.  A liquid  will  form  at 
the  top  of  the  can  after  it  has  stood  for  a time.  Do 
not  remove  this  liquid.  It  helps  to  preserve  the  paste. 
The  above  recipe  makes  about  a quart  of  paste.  The 
paste  may  be  kept  indefinitely  when  placed  in  a covered 
glass  jar.  It  has  excellent  adhesive  qualities  and  is 
inexpensive. 

The  ordinary  school  ink  may  be  used  for  silhouette 
work,  but  if  blacker  effects  are  desired,  plan  to  give 
your  brush  and  ink  lessons  when  the  ink  is  low  in  the 
wells,  as  it  is  then  almost  as  black  as  the  regular  India 
drawing  ink. 


PASTE 


BRUSH 

AND 

INK 


CARE  OF  MATERIALS 


137 


SAVING 

DRAW- 

INGS 


If  the  regular  paint  brush  is  used  for  the  brush 
and  ink  work,  it  neeessitates  the  distribution  of  paint 
boxes  and  water  pans  (for  the  brushes  must  be  care- 
fully washed  before  painting  again  with  the  cakes). 
If  possible,  a set  of  brushes  should  be  kept  for  ink 
work.  These,  kept  points  upward  in  a tumbler  or 
mug,  may  be  distributed  quickly  when  needed,  and 
after  the  lesson  all  of  the  brushes  may  be  washed  at 
one  time,  as  it  is  not  essential  that  every  particle  of 
ink  be  removed  before  another  lesson.  If  the  chil- 
dren use  water  color  boxes,  containing  the  three 
primary  colors  and  a cake  of  black,  the  silhouette 
work  may  be  done  with  the  black  cake  in  preference 
to  ink. 

Many  supervisors  give  their  teachers  specific  direc- 
tions as  to  what  to  do  with  children’s  work.  If,  how- 
ever, there  is  no  supervisor,  the  following  suggestion 
may  prove  helpful.  After  a lesson,  the  work  should 
be  collected  and  laid  away  until  the  teacher  is  at 
liberty  to  look  it  over  carefully.  Sometimes  it  is  best 
to  preserve  the  entire  set  of  drawings  as  a class  exercise 
to  show  to  parents  who  are  interested.  It  would  not 
be  possible  to  save  all  the  work  for  any  length  of  time 
as  it  accumulates  too  rapidly.  However,  a few  of  the 
very  best  from  each  lesson  should  be  saved  for  dis- 
play in  case  an  exhibition  of  school  work  is  given. 

To  have  a screen  or  wire  upon  which  some  of 
these  drawings  may  be  hung  after  each  lesson  is  a 
great  source  of  inspiration  to  the  children,  but  never 
leave  the  same  drawings  up  for  more  than  a few  days. 


138 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


The  drawings  which  are  not  saved  should  never 
be  destroyed  before  the  children.  When  once  they 
realize  that  the  things  which  they  have  labored  so 
hard  to  do  well  are  merely  thrown  into  the  waste 
basket,  it  wounds  their  pride  and  causes  them  to  lose 
interest  in  their  work. 


XII.  PLANNING  THE  WORK 


PLANNING 
BY  SUPER- 
VISOR 
AND 
GRADE 
TEACHER 


HOW 

TO 

PLAN 


While  the  subjects  treated  in  this  book  cover  in 
general  the  leading  kinds  of  work  which  have  been 
evolved  as  suitable  for  Art  Instruction  in  the  primary 
grades,  it  remains  for  the  teacher  to  select  the  helps 
which  will  contribute  to  the  desired  results  and  to 
make  a plan  of  work  in  accord  with  local  school  con- 
ditions. In  many  cities  the  supervisor  plans  a course 
adapted  to  the  local  situation.  Sometimes  this  course 
specifies  in  detail  the  work  for  each  day;  in  other 
cases  it  gives  only  the  general  plan,  leaving  the  teacher 
to  work'  out  the  details.  In  many  places  the  grade 
teacher  must  plan  her  own  course,  and  for  such  the 
following  suggestions  are  made: 

To  make  the  year's  work  a success,  survey  not 
only  the  particular  subject  to  be  taught  today  or 
tomorrow,  but  survey  the  whole  ground  to  be  covered 
during  the  year.  Don’t  try  to  carry  the  plan  in  the 
mind.  Find  time,  once  it  is  formulated,  to  fix  it  on 
paper.  This  is  the  only  way  to  ensure  a balance  of 
work.  It  means  some  trouble  but  it  will  pay  a 
hundred  fold. 

In  planning  the  work  for  the  year,  turn  to  the 
Table  of  Contents  where  the  various  subjects  and  the 
topics  under  each  are  specified  and  paged.  After 
estimating;  the  number  of  lessons  that  can  be  given 

during  the  year,  select  the  subjects  you  wish  to  cover, 

139 


140 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


and  apportion  the  lessons  to  each  subject.  In  doing 
this  you  will,  of  course,  assign  many  more  lessons  to 
Drawing  from  Things  than  to  Drawing  from  Animals, 
as  only  an  occasional  lesson  will  be  demanded  by  the 
last  named  subject.  Drawing  from  Nature  will  rightly 
claim  more  lessons  than  Cutting  from  Paper,  Working 
in  Clay,  or  Special  Days  although  each  of  these  has 
its  peculiar  value  and  interest. 

It  would  be  well  to  read  the  entire  book  before 
going  farther,  jotting  down  the  topics  under  each  sub- 
ject. Lastly,  it  becomes  necessary  to  know  whether 
the  work  shall  be  planned  to  follow  each  subject  rather 
continuously  for  a number  of  weeks,  or  whether  it 
shall  be  planned  with  reference  to  the  daily  life  of  the 
child,  his  activities,  his  other  lessons,  and  the  chang- 
ing seasons,  each  bringing  in  its  own  plant  life.  The 
teacher  who  follows  the  former  plan  might  teach 
Drawing  from  Nature  in  September  and  early  October; 
Drawing  from  Things  in  later  October  and  November; 
Making  and  Decorating  in  December  and  early  Jan- 
uary; Painting  and  Color  for  the  following  six  weeks; 
Drawing  from  People  and  Animals  in  March,  going 
back  to  Drawing  from  Nature  in  the  spring.  She 
would  under  this  plan  devote  little  attention  to  Special 
Days.  She  would  follow  the  suggestions  for  Working 
in  Clay  or  for  Cutting  from  Paper  only  when  they 
were  pertinent  to  the  other  work,  and  would  teach 
Drawing  from  Imagination  only  in  connection  with 
language  work. 

"Phis  plan  does  not  seem  to  be  the  better  one, 


CHOICE 

OF 

PLANS 


BEST 

PLAN 

FOR 

YOUNG 

CHILDREN 


PLANNING  THE  WORK 


141 


TWO 

WAYS 

LAYING 

OUT 

WORK 

FOR 

MONTH 


although  it  has  its  advocates.  It  works  out  better  in 
the  upper  than  in  the  lower  grades,  for  in  the  upper 
grades  more  stress  is  placed  on  technique,  and  a series 
of  lessons  in  one  subject  surely  confers  greater  technical 
skill.  With  very  young  children,  however,  we  neither 
expect  nor  seek  technique  primarily.  We  should, 
therefore,  strive  to  plan  the  work  in  such  a way  that 
the  lesson  of  each  day  fits  into  the  child’s  interests  and 
activities,  and  thus  with  the  teacher’s  definite  plan 
and  the  year  for  a unit,  there  woidd  be  no  didl  routine 
for  the  pupil.  Each  lesson  would  be  welcomed  as  a 
delight,  and  together  would  form  a balanced  whole 
for  the  year. 

Two  ways  of  laying  out  the  work  for  one  month 
under  the  latter  plan  are  here  shown,  and  although 
neither  may  exactly  fit  any  particular  case,  they  may 
at  the  same  time  prove  suggestive. 

In  the  first  instance,  the  number  of  drawing  lessons, 
which  are  likely  to  come  in  September,  are  taken  and 
apportioned  to  the  subjects.  It  is  frequently  possible 
and  always  desirable  to  put  the  time  of  two  regular 
drawing  lessons  into  one  painting  lesson  instead  of 
two  short  ones,  so  when  we  say,  “Drawing  from 
Imagination,  four  lessons,”  we  may  actually  mean 
only  two  lessons.  In  the  Northern  States,  the 
Drawing  from  Nature  must  necessarily  be  done 
during  the  fall  and  spring  months,  while  in  the 
South  the  nature  lessons  may  be  distributed  over 
the  year. 


142 


TALKS  ON  DRAWING 


September  Lessons 

Drawing;  from  Imagination 4 

o # o 

Distribution  and  Collection  of  Color  boxes 1 


Dra  wing  f Grasses  and  Sedges 
from  j 

Nature  i Flowers 

Drawing  from  People 

Drawing  from  Things 

O o 


( Pencil  Massing. 

{ Color 

f Brush  & Ink . . 
I Color 


1 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 


TOPICAL 

PR.OGRAM 


Having  blocked  out  the  subjects  and  lessons  in 
this  general  way,  it  will  be  well  to  plan  definitely  just 
what  stories  are  to  be  illustrated,  and  what  poses  and 
objects  are  to  be  drawn. 

The  second  way  of  laying  out  the  work  for  Septem- 
ber shows  the  specification  by  days.  While  circum- 
stances might  cause  a readjustment  of  the  program 
for  any  given  day,  it  could  in  the  main  be  followed 
quite  closely. 


September 

First  Week 

Monday  Drawing  from  Imagination. 

Tuesday  “ “ “ 

Wednesday  “ “ “ 

Thursday  Straight  lane  Action  Figures. 
Friday  ‘ “ 


DAILY 

AND 

WEEKLY 

PROGRAM 


Second  Week 

Monday  Lesson  on  Distribution  of  Color  Boxes, 
Pans,  Water,  etc.  No  painting  done 
in  this  lesson. 

Tuesday  r Grasses  in  Color, 
and 

Wednesday  l Lesson  given  Wednesday. 

Thursday  Coarse  Sedges  in  Pencil  Mass. 

Friday  Regular  Pose  Work. 


PLANNING  THE  WORK 


143 


Third  Week 

Monday  Flat  Washes  of  Color,  making  Panels 

and  to  be  saved  for  next  lesson. 

Tuesday  l Lesson  given  Tuesday. 

Wednesday  Using  Panels  of  former  Lesson  for 
Background  paint  Sedges  or  Simple 
Sprays  of  Flowers  with  Brush  and 
Ink. 

Thursday  Drawing  from  Things  with  Pencil. 

Friday 

Fourth  Week 

Monday  Flowers  in  Color, 

and  ; 

Tuesday  l Lesson  given  Tuesday. 

Wednesday  Regular  Pose  Work  with  Pencil. 

Thursday  Drawing  from  Imagination. 

Friday  Working  in  Clay  or  ( Titling  from  Paper. 

In  laying  out  the  work  for  the  month  as  above,  it 
would  be  well  to  write  down  the  number  of  the  page 
in  this  book  where  help  for  a particular  exercise  may 
be  found,  specifying  the  topical  heading. 

It  is  suggested  that  a general  plan  of  the  entire 
year’s  work  be  made,  and  then  the  detailed  plan  worked 
out  a month  at  a time. 


